goonys evil twin

I thought about transactions, but thought most past ownership talk was in discussions. I actually spent 2-3 minutes thinking about where to post this, as opposed to most times when I don't spend anytime thinking about my posts.

Mark Prior would easily get more than 1/3.5 on the open market right now. I don't understand why this conversation has gone on as long as it has.

The Cubs are in win-now mode, and Hendry probably has to win-now to keep his job (hopefully), but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's 1000% win-now. Remember, they haven't traded any prospects this offseason. An outright win-now mode is going to include selling off some of the future for today. The Cubs are in a hedged win-now situation, as well they should be. Hendry was given X dollars to fix the mess he created. He's got no business being unhappy about having to rely on Pie. And I doubt he is unhappy. He wanted to go with Pie 2 years ago. I think he may have planned all along to go with Pie, and he spent money elsewhere knowing he wasn't going to spend big on CF. I don't understand the trade for Pierre then if he was thinking this 2 years ago. Baker whined about a lack of a "true leadoff hitter", and Pie was injured that year. Hendry wanted to call him up in 2005 before he got hurt. He couldn't go with him in the offseason because he wasn't a "true leadoff hitter" and there was no way of knowing how he'd respond early in 2006. I think Hendry traded for Pierre expecting to get the 2003 version of Pierre, as he typically only talks about a player's best stats.

I don't have a problem with the Katrina/Saints storylines. I think it's a nice story. I think it's great that the games are bringing attention to the situation. I don't get why people have to be so cynical that they can't differentiate between the fluff piece stories and the actual game stories, and deal with the fact that both exist.

The Cubs are in win-now mode, and Hendry probably has to win-now to keep his job (hopefully), but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's 1000% win-now. Remember, they haven't traded any prospects this offseason. An outright win-now mode is going to include selling off some of the future for today. The Cubs are in a hedged win-now situation, as well they should be. Hendry was given X dollars to fix the mess he created. He's got no business being unhappy about having to rely on Pie. And I doubt he is unhappy. He wanted to go with Pie 2 years ago. I think he may have planned all along to go with Pie, and he spent money elsewhere knowing he wasn't going to spend big on CF.

NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Billionaire investors Ronald Burkle and Eli Broad on Wednesday proposed a deal which would see them inject $500 million of their own cash into Tribune Co. and own about 30 percent of the newspaper and broadcasting group, a source familiar with the situation said. Under the leveraged recapitalization proposal, the pair would raise $11 billion in debt to fund the deal, the source said, adding that they have financing committed. The proposal offers Tribune shareholders $34 a share -- made up of a $27 dividend and equity valued at $7 a share. Shareholders would retain a stake of about 70 percent in the company, which would continue to be publicly traded. Tribune's shares closed down 18 cents at $30.34 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. A drawn-out deadline for takeover bids for Tribune passed on Wednesday amid increasing concern that Tribune would not attract bids high enough to accept. Under pressure from the Chandler family, the largest shareholder in a company valued by the market at $7.5 billion, Tribune said in September it would explore its options, which could include a sale. Tribune, owner of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune newspapers and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, had hoped to make a recommendation to its board by the end of 2006. But the auction was delayed after a disappointing first round of bids and a new deadline was set for Jan. 17, according to sources. The Chandler family was also looking to mount an offer of its own, according to reports in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ reported that under the Chandler's proposal, the Chandlers and private-equity partners would buy Tribune's newspapers, which include the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, while Tribune would spin off its TV stations. The company also received at least one proposal from a private equity firm interested in the company's TV stations, the WSJ reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Acquiring Tribune's newspapers would mark an unexpected return to the publishing business for the Chandlers. The family owned and ran the Los Angeles Times for more than a century before selling it, along with Times Mirror Co., to Tribune in 2000 for $8.3 billion. The sale included other Times Mirror papers, including The Baltimore Sun in Maryland and Newsday, published on Long Island in New York. Under Broad and Burkle's proposal, made to Tribune by letter submitted on Wednesday, existing management would run the company but Burkle and Broad may take board seats. As there would be no change of control, such a deal could be completed quicker than a pure takeover. Both Burkle and Broad are billionaires based in Los Angeles. Grocery magnate Burkle owns private equity firm Yucaipa, and has invested in companies including Wild Oats Markets Inc. . Broad founded home builder KB Home and financial services firm SunAmerica Inc., now part of American International Group . PRIVATE EQUITY INTEREST WANED Key private equity players who initially showed interest in bidding for the whole of Tribune were said by sources to have been unlikely to have submitted offers for the whole company. Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners and Apollo Management, a private equity consortium that had been interested in the group, was thought unlikely to have submitted a bid by the deadline, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. According to separate sources in December, other potential bidders, Thomas H. Lee Partners [THL.UL] and Texas Pacific Group [TPG.UL], dropped out in part because they had already announced big media deals in 2006 and were worried about a U.S. law restricting media asset ownership in a given market. Texas Pacific was thought unlikely to have put a bid in, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. Thomas H. Lee was also thought unlikely to have put a bid in, a separate source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. A source told Reuters in October that Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] had looked at Tribune, but it was unclear whether it had or would bid. Carlyle's intent was unclear on Wednesday. Representatives for Carlyle, Texas Pacific, Yucaipa, Eli Broad and Ron Burkle declined comment. Apollo, Madison Dearborne, Providence and Tribune, were not available for comment.

NEW YORK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Tribune Co.'s largest shareholder has submitted a bid to buy the company and spin off some of its broadcast and entertainment operations, in an offer that values the media company at $7.6 billion. The Chandlers proposed to take Tribune private at $31.70 a share, which tacks a 4.5 percent premium onto its New York Stock Exchange closing price of $30.34 on Wednesday. Tribune disclosed the bid in a filing it made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late on Wednesday. The bid compared with a $34-a-share offer from billionaire investors Ronald Burkle and Eli Broad on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the situation. "The spin-off of Tribune Broadcasting as a separate company will unlock substantial value for Tribune stockholders other than the Chandler Trusts and is an important component of our overall proposal," said a letter signed by William Stinehart Jr., a co-trustee of the Chandler Trusts and a member of Tribune's board. The Chandlers proposal would give shareholders $19.30 in cash and all the outstanding shares of a new company that would contain Tribune's broadcasting business. Burkle and Broad's offer is made up of a $27 dividend and equity valued at $7 a share. They proposed to put $500 million of their cash into Tribune, and own about 30 percent of the newspaper and broadcasting group, said the source. Shareholders would retain a stake of about 70 percent in Tribune, which would continue to be publicly traded under the billionaires' offer.

Looks like the Hawks are in-line for another top 5 draft pick. I actually prefer that to a fruitless 9th or 10th place finish in the conference. This is just a poorly constructed team. The mad dash for veterans has been a disaster. The kids are largely unproductive. They continue to be the least productive offense in the league, sans Philly. The team's top point scorer doesn't even crack the top 100 in the league. The top 100!!!! Can you believe that? This team just sucks. Any hopes of winning anything of significance, and winning back fans just continues to get pushed out into the far future. They've got to trade Khabibulin. There's no point in having a 2nd rate old franchise goalie when your team can't score any goals and you can't sniff the playoffs. I'd hope they trade off the other vets as well, including Aucoin, even if he doesn't net you much of anything in return. I really hate that this team is so bad and basically has no chance of making the playoffs for the 8th year in 9 tries. I grow tired of the nonsense about moving from Chicago Stadium to the United Center, and going away from the gritty tough guy style of play. This team loses for the same reason the Cubs have lost and the same reasons the Bears were so bad in the 90's, a lack of talent.

I swear upon all that is holy that you better not be talking about me. I've suffered my entire life watching this team every Sunday, many of those times I was watching in person in the Superdome, and I'll be damned if I'll be called a bandwagon fan, after ALL these years of suffering. :alright:

How in the world is that franchise functioning with a coach and GM that don't speak with each other. Must be some amazing chemistry elsewhere.

You have to ask yourself though, how much is a guy worth if there's a 50% chance he'll never pitch for my big league club and a 75-80% chance that when/if he returns, he won't be pitching anywhere close to the level he once achieved. At this point, we're talking about a guy who has pitched more than 200 IP just once in a 5 year career and the next closest season was 166.2 in 2005, where he pitched decently but by no means great. Any team that signs a guy like Prior for more than one season is taking a huge gamble they'll end up eating a lot of money. Someone might give him a better contract for a single season, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, knowing even if they do he might price himself out of their range in the offseason. Moreover, I don't see a lot of teams taking a big money chance on an injury risk. The market is high this offseason for pitching but, remember what the most important factor in pitchers getting contracts this offseason has been, innings pitched. Wouldn't we have gotten a draft choice if the Cubs had not offered arbritration and Prior left? I forget how that works but depending on how high the choice is, it might have been worth it to let him walk. EDIT: Personally I think he'd get in FA exactly what he'll get in arbi, a 1 year deal worth 3.5M-5M. No one is going to give a guy with Prior's injury history more than a one year deal unless the player's willing to take even less money. The Cubs seem to have unlimited cash this offseason so that may have made it easy to just pay for the slim chance Prior comes back to a semi-decent level, knowing that if we get another 6 GS season we can cut him loose to save money next year. Longevity got valued quite high this offseason, but injury risks did not deter teams from paying highly for guys, it basically never has. Prior would have easily exceeded the arbitration figure in free agency. I'd bet the Yankees would be more than willing to throw Marquis money at him right now. And the Mets wouldn't have hesitated to go go 2/10 with him, at a minimum.

That Eagles cover was actually two weeks ago before Wild Card weekend when the Eagles beat the Giants. This was last weeks with Florida on the cover. The page I linked says it was 1/8, which would have been 9 days ago, just after the Eagles beat the Giants. But judging by the cover you're right...it looks like it was meant to be prior to wild card weekend. SI covers are dated about 5-6 days after the date they hit the newstands.

Now that was funny. And, obviously, he's in the wrong if he was driving while intoxicated. I just have trouble caring that a guy was playing his music too loud and got caught with a dime bag. That's the story of a lot of people who wind up becoming productive members of society. Nevermind anyone in baseball who makes a big deal out of it is a hyprocite with the steroid 90's. If he could put up a .293/.401/.480 line for the Cubs like he did at AAA last year, frankly, he could go straight to the locker room afterwards, light a blunt, and play music so loud it disturbs the White Sox night game for all I care. :lol: You can't dismiss a guy for this action. The problem was this isn't an isolated incident. Obviously he just doesn't care about avoiding trouble. I don't have problems with a person who smokes up, but if a person has been in a lot of trouble before, and can't lay off the pot while he gets back on the right road, then his problems are far greater than just liking pot.

Seahawks, Lions

They were 4-2 playing in the outside this year, and 6-2 overall on the road. Yes, they played well on the road this year, but the question was about the playoffs. Obviously teams that make the playoffs are going to have good records most of the time. It's notable that the Saints didn't play a single cold weather game this year. Green Bay and Cleveland were early. The Giants Christmas Eve game was warm. The Dallas road game was basically like playing in another dome. Unless that game in Pittsburgh, in early November, was a cold weather game, then the Saints just haven't seen what they'll see Sunday, 32 degrees. Bear weather isn't something that helps the Bears. This team isn't a sloppy weather team. But the cold with a little potential for other elements will be entirely new to New Orleans. Even if Brees is used to playing in northern Indiana, his seasons were always done before December, and bowl games are at warm weather sites. He's been in nothing but controlled climates ever since, aside from the occasional road trip to KC or Denver. Obviously Bush hasn't played in this weather, and Deuce doesn't have much history with it either. I think it's a mistake to complete ignore the home field factor like Jaws did.

This conversation went from pointless to without point in quite a hurry.

I don't find his reasoning to be particularly sound other than the home field stuff. Hopefully he's right. I figure it's probably a coinflip. No kidding. Sounds like his editor asked somebody to come up with whatever they can in support of the Bears and Clayton was the one who accepted the task.

"In a perfect world, I'd like to tinker with the outfield," Hendry said. "We have a very solid group. We're counting on our young kid, Felix Pie, being a factor, whether it's Opening Day or down the road shortly after. When you get out your wish list, you can't make it all about buying new players. You want to have your own guys develop, too." "A lot of times they talk about the 'winter ball winter' -- 'The guy had a great winter,'" Fleita said. "Most of the time, they don't follow up and have a good year in our country. There are more guys who have poor winters and then have good seasons. Plus, in this lineup, we don't need him to hit, we need his defense." Felix is going to play in CF for the Cubs in 2007. It's just a matter of how frequently. I really hope the Cubs organization doesn't actually believe what Fleita said there at the end, and it's just a matter of him taking pressure off the kid. But the fact is, the Cubs do need offense out of CF. They already have a hole at SS, and they have other question marks. They cannot afford impotence from CF.

Or Ohman. ageing fat ass or young bad ass LOOGY....lets trade the ageing fat ass Ohman should be seen as untouchable except for the real deal in return...the kid will anchor pens in the future Ohman should not be considered anything close to untouchable.

I hope we fire Lee or at least dock him his pay. That lazy bum. your argument doesn't fit with what he said. lee was hurt for four months last year and played in 158 and 161 games the previous two years as a cub. prior hasn't pitched in 30 starts since '03 (21 starts in '04, 27 starts in '05, 9 starts in '06). derrek lee has been much healthier than mark prior over the course of three seasons. None of these arguments make sense. This is baseball, not ACME Widget Manufacturing, School District 62 or Goldman Sachs. There is a system in place, agreed upon by the owners and players, that severely underpays players in comparison to the open market early in their careers, but then rewards the guys who last with great riches. I guarantee Prior would make more in the open market than he'll make via arbitration this year. All this nonsense about "how could he ask for a raise" is just completely naive.

I would doubt they'd choose that one, and I'd guess the NFL wouldn't allow it. I think you only get 1 game with the alternates. They better go with the normal home ones.

I believe a team can offer 20% less, but in a skyrocketing market, I'm not sure how realistic that is to win a case. Just bring one of his baseball cards in from this past year. I think the stats will help the Cubs win the case. I'm pretty sure they do more than just look at the previous year's stats.

I believe a team can offer 20% less, but in a skyrocketing market, I'm not sure how realistic that is to win a case.

It's called negotiations.

Jeter and Rivera both crossed the $10m line in arbitration years ago. They settled before the actual case, but that fact alone is enough to drive up later awards. Maddux settled at the $13m in arbitration a few years ago. While that's different than Zambrano's case, it's relavent. Don't they compared 6-year arbitration guys to everybody, as opposed to just other arbitration guys? I don't think 15.5m is all that outlandish, not with multiple pitchers making more than that. I would think he stands a chance to win the case, especially if the Cubs offer is just $11m. Had they gone to $12-13, I'd bet they'd win. But that is where they'll settle.