jersey cubs fan

That was the strategy, same with the DBacks. If it was possible to guarantee one WS in a miserable decade, I'd take it. But your best bet is still to make the playoffs as often as possible, so I'd rather try and have the best team possible every year than hope your 1 glory season plan works. That is the plan that worked for the Angels, White Sox, Cardinals, and Phillies this decade. And that is really how the Yankees and Red Sox won this decade, even if they aren't a fair comparable to anybody else.

Sorry man, I completely disagree. Both teams play to a tie, and all a team needs to do to win is win a coin toss, move the ball...what 30-40 yards for a field goal? That's dumb. Except for the fact that this isn't nearly as easy as people are suggesting, and of course, not a problem. There is nothing unfair. They had 60 minutes to win the game, and they didn't. A coin toss does not determine the winner, and taking possession does not win the game. There is no perfect ending, and suggestions that they should just keep playing non-sudden death overtimes periods are just incredibly stupid.

Dew, your plan makes no sense. First off, teams are still going to score FG. This just makes teams think twice about not even trying for a TD. Second, you complain about the untrue notion that teams are being told to not do something that has been a part of football for decades, and then suggest removing something that has been a part of football for decades - special teams. You take out kickoffs and complain about a punt fest that isn't going to happen. Sudden death OT is good. Adding the two possession thing doesn't make it any better, but if it shuts up the Peter Kings of the world, it makes the discussion about football more enjoyable. So I'm fine with it.

That's a bad idea. Other sports aren't like football. Football players are dead after games. You can't play back to back in that sport, or even 2 days later. The uproar against sudden death is the stupidest media/fan criticism of how a sport is run I have ever heard. Well I wasn't suggesting they play back to back games...just a few more minutes. I realize they're tired...so are basketball players and hockey players in the 3rd OT or whatever. They're paid well to play while tired. I understand the criticism of the current system...and I do think a change was needed. But I think the change as implemented is clunky. That non sudden death system will inevitably lead to multiple OTs, which will effectively create back to back game sitautions. A change was not needed. The only need was for idiots to shut up about how unfair it was, when there was nothing remotedly unfair about it.

That is a horribly stupid idea. The only thing they want to prevent is idiots like Peter King crying about how unfair it is for a team to lose a game via FG without touching the ball in OT. It's a stupid complaint, but the idioits complain loud enough so they are addressing it. You have 60 freaking minutes to win, it's perfectly fair. There's nothing unfair about the current system. I agree with the bolded 100%. I see no need to change the current system, but if they're completely set on changing it, I don't like this change. All the new system does is make field goals a bad thing. They're not a bad thing, they're a part of football. Again, I don't think there's a need for a change as I don't see any unfairness in the current system. But if they're that determined to change it, I think a system closer to the college system would be better than what they're implementing. I completely disagree with the closer to college system. The college system is just plain goofy nonsense. A FG can still win it. The myth that every OT game ends in the first team with possession kicking a FG is wrong, but if you do get the ball and kick a FG, you are probably going to still win, so it doesn't make FG a bad thing. It makes it less important in OT only. But it's still important to score, and if all you can get is a FG, that's what you will take.

This supposed golden era was only the golden era of the Cubs if you subscribe to the ESPN notion that everything that matters happened within the last 25 years. The Cubs were 807-811 in this decade. They had 6 winnings season, sure, but they had more 90 loss seasons than 90 win seasons (and actually more 90 loss seasons than the forgettable 90's). At best the 00's compete with the 80's for best decade. The only thing setting them apart is the 1 extra playoff appearance in the expanded playoff format time frame. I would argue it should have been the golden era of modern Cubs baseball, but opportunity was pissed away by management. But there's really no reason why the 2010's can't be better than the 2000's, and considering they only have to manage to accomplish the mediocre goal of finishing over .500 this decade to surpass this "golden era", it shouldn't be that hard.

He's not a very good player, but he's paid like a superstar. What's forgiveness got to do with it?

That is a horribly stupid idea. The only thing they want to prevent is idiots like Peter King crying about how unfair it is for a team to lose a game via FG without touching the ball in OT. It's a stupid complaint, but the idioits complain loud enough so they are addressing it. You have 60 freaking minutes to win, it's perfectly fair. There's nothing unfair about the current system.

That's a bad idea. Other sports aren't like football. Football players are dead after games. You can't play back to back in that sport, or even 2 days later. The uproar against sudden death is the stupidest media/fan criticism of how a sport is run I have ever heard.

I'm interested to see how this will change OT strategy. You will start seeing some games won by a touchdown in overtime instead of all of the winning scores being field goals. Except of course for the games that weren't won by a field goal.

Marlon Byrd is probably the last person I'd suspect to do coke. HE IS SO HUGE. Big people don't do coke? Not as much, or else they would eventually get smaller. that's just silly. I don't know many cokeheads, but I know a couple and they include some big people, both fat and athletic types.

I believe it was a detroit based blogger doing what all columnists have done, say something stupid to get attention.

Cubs Wins - 86 (I think under but want to say over, so, over it is) Soriano Home Runs - 27 (under, but close) Lee RBIs - 105 (under) Ramirez Games played - 120 (over) Theriot Caught Steals - 10 (over, he's the de facto leadoff and Lou wants to be more aggressive) Piniella Ejections - 2 (this should be 1.5) Zambrano Home Runs - 3 (this should be 3.5) Castro Games played - 20 (under) Marmol Saves - 30 (over) Wins vs Cardinals - 9 (under) Fukudome Walks - 70 (over, I think he'll play a little less but still get this mark) Nady Home Runs - 12 (under) Fontenot AVG - .270 (under) Zambrano Wins - 14 (over) Dempster Wins - 12 (under) Lilly Wins - 12 (over) Wells Wins - 10 (under) Pink Hat guy behind home plate at home games - 75 (easy under)

Marlon Byrd is probably the last person I'd suspect to do coke. HE IS SO HUGE. Big people don't do coke?

Ron Washington would have gotten him twelve minutes worth.

Bowman's a pretty solid linebacker. And you did kind of limit my options with that pick. Well I didn't want to completely crap out on my responsibilities, but I was in no position to research it. I'd never heard of the guy even though I've seen PSU play quite a bit.

Yeah, that doesn't really take much to prove. It was a decade where people praised back to back .500 seasons.

There's no "draw" with any manager really. They don't add anything to the team. Joe Torre didn't make the Yankees better than Showalter could have, it was the cast of superstars all emerging at once that turned a good team into a great one. Trammel could just fill a hole a little better than somebody like Sandberg who might feel the need to come and put his imprint all over the team by "making things happen", which mostly just leads to trouble.

Not really. I'd guess Stan Simpson, a redshirt freshman who never plays, and doesn't look to crack the rotation any time soon, but he wouldn't be sitting in the middle of the bench. You have any sort of description of him? He was a black guy wearing just the uniform (no warms up or anything like that, so I assume he plays ). It was about 20 seconds of highlights and was really the only thing that stood out to me, other than the fact that it was highlights of the NIT and I'll watch anything on an airplane.

I saw some highlights of Illinois' game and on three seperate occasions there was a play that brought all or most of the players to their feet and clapping. But there was one guy in the middle who just sat there doing nothing each time. Is there a well known malcontent on the team who likes to brood while the team celebrates?

It's not a short experiment. He's going to start out as the 4th starter, and if Lilly returns, he'll just be the 5th starter. He's in the rotation, and given his paycheck and veteran status, he's going to be given more leeway than he should get. If he fails miserably maybe he'll be gone shortly, but if he only fails marginally, he'll be here forever.

He didn't go out of his way to dispell the Wrigley/Fans myth. You have to go out of your way to try and prove that myth true. But just prior to that discussion he said this, "So far, there's not much evidence the new stewards can enhance, modernize and profitize the old ballpark without losing what makes it great, the way the Boston owners did. You turn fans against Wrigley, you've lost everything." That's just a bunch of stupid by somebody who doesn't know anything about anybody outside of STL and NYC, and he doesn't even know anything about NY teams even though he lives here. Leitch is a guy who subscribes to the nonsensical mythology of baseball being a form of poetry. He's an emo kid who made his mark riding the wave on modern sports journalism and he has completely jumped off that bandwagon and tried to turn himself into the next worthless Rick Reilly clone.

Dirty gets another weapon to play with in his second year, Demaryius Thomas WR Georgia Tech, despite the injury.

I see whoever made the Giants pick for me really gave them a nobody.

Okay, I'll need to get caught up here.