MSG T

He's not markedly worse this season than in any past seasons. Agreed. He's REALLY bad this season. Before it was just kind of goofy but now at times like it honestly seems like senility is creeping in. It's sad, really. I'm wondering if it isn't health related. I just remember thinking the same thing about Harry after his stroke. He wasn't the near same announcer he was from his Cards through early Cubs years.

That's just not gonna happen at mid-level SEC schools like Ole Miss or Ark. I think what Ole Miss has done the past two years (being ranked in top 15 and being about two wins away from being a BCS school) is about as close as it is gonna get for schools our size. We aren't LSU or BAMA and we never will be. However, Arkansas probably should be better than they are though. Y'all have the entire state to recruit from basically. Mississippi has an insane amount of football talent but it is completely distributed between Ole Miss, Miss St, and our lovely neighbors right next door: LSU and BAMA. Throw in the fact that Southern Miss occasionally steals someone like DeAndre Brown, and it is really spread thin. So I guess at least the Mississippi schools have an excuse. There's no reason Arkansas shouldn't get the majority of your in state players. And if Petrino is ever gonna do anything, he sure as hell should recruit better than he did this past year. 49th in recruiting?? At least Nutt had y'all in the top 25 just about every year. I think you underestimate those schools. Look at Iowa this coming year. If they are able to get their O-line rebuilt, they're loaded everywhere else, they could very well contend for the National Title. And that's from the smallest B10 school (well, public school) in the state with the smallest recruiting base in the conference and having to share that base with another BCS school (well, Iowa State is kind of a BCS school). Short of that, they've been to what, 7 New Years day games (2 of them BCS) in the last 10 seasons? That's pretty good success for a team with the limitations they have. With the right coach schools like Ole Miss, MSU, Arkansas should have it much easier than Iowa. Difference is that Iowa has to play the likes of Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State, whereas the Hogs have to play LSU, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, etc. Wii bit tougher in the SEC IMO. Iowa played just as many top 10 teams as Arkansas and 1 fewer ranked teams. That would have been as many if Arizona hadn't crapped their Bowl game down their leg. They also played more BCS conference teams. The big difference is that Iowa only lost once to all those ranked teams and AR lost all of their games to ranked teams. Arkansas has a serious natural recruiting advantage over Iowa too. And no in-state competition.

That's just not gonna happen at mid-level SEC schools like Ole Miss or Ark. I think what Ole Miss has done the past two years (being ranked in top 15 and being about two wins away from being a BCS school) is about as close as it is gonna get for schools our size. We aren't LSU or BAMA and we never will be. However, Arkansas probably should be better than they are though. Y'all have the entire state to recruit from basically. Mississippi has an insane amount of football talent but it is completely distributed between Ole Miss, Miss St, and our lovely neighbors right next door: LSU and BAMA. Throw in the fact that Southern Miss occasionally steals someone like DeAndre Brown, and it is really spread thin. So I guess at least the Mississippi schools have an excuse. There's no reason Arkansas shouldn't get the majority of your in state players. And if Petrino is ever gonna do anything, he sure as hell should recruit better than he did this past year. 49th in recruiting?? At least Nutt had y'all in the top 25 just about every year. I think you underestimate those schools. Look at Iowa this coming year. If they are able to get their O-line rebuilt, they're loaded everywhere else, they could very well contend for the National Title. And that's from the smallest B10 school (well, public school) in the state with the smallest recruiting base in the conference and having to share that base with another BCS school (well, Iowa State is kind of a BCS school). Short of that, they've been to what, 7 New Years day games (2 of them BCS) in the last 10 seasons? That's pretty good success for a team with the limitations they have. With the right coach schools like Ole Miss, MSU, Arkansas should have it much easier than Iowa.

Is the scout the one they fired for convincing Hendry signing Juan Pierre was a good idea?

I think this is the first thread I've ever seen on here that went to multiple pages and everyone was in agreement. Maybe that's what Lou was shooting for? Sorry, that's all I got.

Unfortunately, in reading a couple of other message boards I frequent, there are a LOT of people that think this is way overdue. My guess is the average Cubs fan thinks that Z and Marmol both should be sent down and are ecstatic Hill is playing so much because he plays the right way. Why do you frequent such message boards? They're Hawkeye boards, but there's a bunch of Cubs fans on them. News like this brings out the worse in normally rational people. We're talking about people who know less about baseball than my 9 year old son. Entertaining on other subjects though.

Unfortunately, in reading a couple of other message boards I frequent, there are a LOT of people that think this is way overdue. My guess is the average Cubs fan thinks that Z and Marmol both should be sent down and are ecstatic Hill is playing so much because he plays the right way.

Is that the day Lilly comes back? If not, who the hell is taking his spot in the rotation? Even if it's the day Lilly comes back, aside from insanity, why?

I simply disagree with this. Trading Theriot is not the makings of a fire sale or a "sad sack" team. I understand that the Cubs are presenting the idea that they are a "win now" team, but the reality is that they're not a win now team. They're a "maybe we'll win if our old team doesn't have another off-year or gets hit with injuries and if this crappy division stays healthy." The reality is that the Cubs are not in any kind of situation where they NEED to keep Theriot because of the small margin of wins he might give them vs. a Barney/Blanco platoon. I agree, it would be helpful if Theriot could be part of a package that got the Cubs a player that could impact them since there is a a decent chance they could contend despite their halfassed construction, but it is in no way a necessity that trading Theriot would have to mean a return of a player who could be plugged into the team right away. The Cubs are at a crossroads with the contracts that are coming up this year and the next and I would not mind at all if Ricketts' rhetoric about building for the future meant that players like Theriot were moved for prospects. Look let's make this real simple. Do you think the Cubs have a legitimate chance to contend in 2010? Yes or no. If the answer is yes, then the notion of making a deal that costs you ~3 wins is just flat out ludicrous. If the answer is no, then a) you're more pessimistic than most, and b) Theriot should be well down the Cubs' trade "to-do" list. Not if dealing Theriot nets you a player, say a 2B, that makes up that 3 wins or more. You get stronger at one position while making yourself weaker at another. They won't just give Theriot away for free, there has to be some value coming back. If you get a guy back that is an improvement over Baker/Fontenot by, say, 4 wins, you make that deal. You are a better team even though you are now worse at SS. Keep in mind, my argument is but one possible example, but should explain it. Theriot should be well down on the Cubs "to do" list if he won't bring back anything of value. If he will, then it should be looked at.

Come on, read Barta's statement again. Not one mention of the coaching staff or Lick. When I wrote that I had just heard Lick's response to KCJJ's report. I figured their report was wrong. (The report that he is leaving because of health). I still kind of do . He's most likely gone but I've seen too many rumors end up wrong before. As far as Pearl goes, I'm trying to put myself in his shoes and it's hard for me to logically see why he would leave where he is at for our school, considering where he is at now. I think there is a better shot that Keno comes here although I don't know if that excites me or not. I was listening to an interview with one of the Hawkeye beat reporters on the radio here. He told the hosts that while trying to find out info about the situation he talked to a couple of the "major" boosters (his words), and they had told Barta that he'd better hit a "home run" (again his words) with a new coach. They asked about Pearl, and he said that "every effort would be made to go after him". He said the booster made it sound as if the money wouldn't be an issue. So basically, they would ask Bruce what it would take to get him to Iowa and that would be close to the starting point. He may not come back, but I'd bet they make it extremely hard, as in nearly impossible, for him to say no.

They forced out his mentor. No way he wants that job. He was actually somewhat close to taking it 3 years ago. If Iowa came calling with $2.5-3 mil per year on the table, plus their new practice facility and Carver upgrades on the horizon, I'd be willing to bet there's no way he wouldn't take the job. And there is no way Delaney could tell Iowa they couldn't hire Pearl.

Ahh, good, Houston didn't secede from the central.

He's now at 12 which would tie him with Mike Morgan and Ron Villone. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/leaders_most_franchises.shtml

Did Houston secede from the Central?

I realize it's not completely the same thing, well it's pretty close, but I've been in many units in the Army in which there were guys that hated each other. Including units in which I saw combat. I'd say there was very little in the way of degradation of performance because of it. Now maybe guys standing at the plate think about how much they dislike their teammate much more than a guy clearing a bunker complex thinks about how much he dislikes his platoon mate, but I really doubt it. If they do, they are unprofessional and should find a new line of work, since they evidently are not able to concentrate on their job instead of their personal feelings. Honestly, the entire chemistry argument is really overblown by both sides. If there is that big of a difference in their performance because of one or two teammates that they don't like, they need to find a nice, warm loving house and stay in it, because I've rarely heard of profession or working environment where everyone likes each other. You do, however, still need to have a good, professional working relationship, and that can happen even if you don't like each other. And yes, I've seen many examples of that in jobs way more stressful than professional athlete. Sorry, I just get riled at the thought that 18-19 year olds can and do overcome that everyday in the military, but people seem to think it makes a huge difference in people being paid large sums of money to play a game. End of rant.

:yahoo: Man, it's depressing I'm celebrating their, probably, lone win in the B10. You have Indiana at home? Feb 28. I'm not sure Iowa can do it twice. Although if Aaron Fuller can keep up what he's done the last two games, they do have a chance.

:yahoo: Man, it's depressing I'm celebrating their, probably, lone win in the B10.

I could see this, and I think their baseball acumen would outweigh the obvious meatball fan pleasing factor Funny, I think the only benefit of Sandberg taking over when Lou leaves is the meatball fan pleasing factor. At least until the Cubs are back to the old ways of being out of the race in June. Then they'll turn on him. Maddux as assistant GM? Odd place to start. He seems like he's observant about the game, but as has been said, can he evaluate talent? I guess he wouldn't have to be great at it if... and it's a big if...he trusts his scouts and they know what they are doing. If he can sell the team and his philosophy to attract FAs would be a big part of the job. Along with having a good philosophy to use to build the franchise. How does anyone know if he'll be any good? I'm at least willing to give the guy a chance. Maybe he'll prove to be way better than Hendry.

The already shattered hearts of Expos fans. Both of them will get over it. You'd hate baseball too if you had a miserable human being sent to your team to torch it to the ground and pee pee on the ashes so the other 29 owners could make a buck off of you. It's disturbing what happened to the Expos. Somebody's going to make a really good documentary about the heinous [expletive] that went down there. I agree that the whole deal that led to their move was crap, but it's not like they drew fans there anyway. Even in their best years, they might have 15-20,000 fans. Yeah it sucked for the people that did go, but they were never a big attraction for Montreal. They drew an average of 25,000+ 5 seasons(79-83), that's it 5 years. In 1987 they won 91 games and averaged 22,000. In 1993 they won 94 games and drew an average of 20,000. So what MLB did to them sucked, but no one in Montreal cared. If they did, the team wouldn't have been treated the way it was.

The already shattered hearts of Expos fans. Both of them will get over it.

I can't stand Wisky, but they should be higher than #16. There's at least 3 teams ahead of them that shouldn't be. This will probably start an argument, but the B10 was the best conference this year.

Did you see the Nike Combat gloves they were all wearing. If you look close you can see it. The Hawks aren't the only ones to wear these, but it's the first time I noticed it. McNutt was doing the same thing on the sideline when I noticed. There was a thread somewhere that showed all of the teams, new uni's and those gloves. The gloves were the best part of anything Nike was doing with all of the changes. I agree. I can't stand most of the uniforms. But I thought the gloves were pretty cool when I saw them, even the other schools. Gloves like that don't stand out so much and become obnoxious, unlike some of the uni's I've seen.

Did you see the Nike Combat gloves they were all wearing. If you look close you can see it. http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Orange+Bowl+Iowa+v+Georgia+Tech+e2WLNXZW8wJl.jpg The Hawks aren't the only ones to wear these, but it's the first time I noticed it. McNutt was doing the same thing on the sideline when I noticed.

Since there are a few Hawk fans on here, here's some pics from the OB. http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/jU1Tw_wYe_I/Orange+Bowl+Iowa+v+Georgia+Tech Here's a sample... http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Orange+Bowl+Iowa+v+Georgia+Tech+1Z0qjnoXtK2l.jpg :yahoo:

Voice of Reason is a complete USC homer, and Big 10 hater, just ignore everything he says. Ignoring him is good advice; however, I don't think anyone can fault USC's scheduling. They have no control over how good or bad the Pacific 10 is, and they consistently schedule strongly out of conference. That wasn't my point. The point was he was bagging on Iowa for a weak schedule, but they had a tougher schedule than USC who actually played a pretty good schedule. Had I mentioned that Iowa went 11-2, and USC was 9-4, while playing a tougher schedule than the Trojans...well that would be bagging on USC. And I wouldn't think about doing that. ;)