Derwood

Completely agree. They were already behind the Suns, Spurs and Lakers in terms of championship contenders before the deal and they still are after the deal. I can't blame the Mavs for going all-in. They're certainly close to the Finals. But I'd still take the three teams you listed before them (assuming somewhat healthy Shaq) and I really like Devin Harris. This is a gamble. i think even with a healthy Shaq the Suns are worse than they were with Marion. Shaq does not fit into an up-tempo, fast-break style offense AT ALL

Disagree. IU fans can be happy.* The coach does have to do things the right way, even the Indiana way. It's a different job than other top positions -- here, we care very deeply about class, ethics, playing the right way and recruiting our state. The position requires intangibles that others don't, but that doesn't mean it can't be filled correctly. As a fan, we've been hamstrung by a coach that couldn't do any of that (Davis) and a coach that sure isn't ethical (Sampson). Both those coaches were generally accepted early, but both squandered that support. *Sure, there are some that will never get over Coach Knight. I'll never get over his dismissal; however, I have moved on and desire to even more with the right coach. I think most are in this boat. i think people SAY they want things done the right way, but if a Sampson-esque coach won them a NC, they'd look the other way

Tyrelle Pryor got into it with some fans at his basketball game on Saturday. we'll see if there are any ramifications. apparently, police were involved but no arrests were made

the entire concept of "the social ideal of Indiana basketball" or whatever is going to guarantee fans will never be happy. as long as they fool themselves into thinking that a coach needs to "do things the right way" and "graduating the kids" etc. are as important as winning, no coach will ever be good enough

i'm still not sure why Meph is taking this so personally. if you think it's a bunk rumor, who cares? move on

You're right...people are reporting the Cubs are interested. Rosenthal: The Cubs aren't interested in Crisp. Miles: The Cubs really aren't interested in Crisp. Levine: If the Red Sox trade for Marquis, Crisp could be coming back, the second part is of course purely speculation. There are three things mainstream reporters have reported: 1. The Cubs would like to acquire a centerfielder. 2. The Red Sox would like to trade a centefielder, Coco Crisp. 3. The Cubs aren't interested in Coco Crisp. However Hoops says they are and some speculation by writers when the three above facts are apparent leads you to believe that they are proving him correct (when in fact they are proving him incorrect). okay, so why does this have your panties in such a bunch?

A bolweevil with a liver complaint vs. a platypus who's a mean drunk

best roids flip, um, i mean bat flip ever

Cintron = Izturis There you go. well cintron would = izturis if the plan is to start him. i'm thinking more along the lines of "first pinch-hitter every game regardless of situation"

Cintron = Macias '08

I think this is because it is easier to get highlights of Cub games since they are always on t.v. I know pretty much all teams are on t.v. now, but I think it is easier for them to get highlights from Comcast or WGN instead of some local affiliate or station owned by the team. i think they also prefer shots of day baseball

you can barely contain yourself That does seem to be the theme in this thread. I admit that I'm elated that another fan base will now be subjected to all that Dusty brings to the table. However, has anyone considered that the sun could possibly shine on even Baker's behind this year or next? How devestating would that be to Cubs fans? well the sun shone on ours in 2003, but we saw the cost of that

methinks Meph is heading for a short vacation

anyone PM wolf?

Do you have the PbP data to back up how often your hypothetical scenario happens or are you just pulling it out your ass and hoping we'll accept it as fact? I do! in 2007, Soriano had 69 plate appearances that started with an 0-2 count. He struck out 27 times out of 69, 14 hits (3 2B, 4 HR) Overall, leading off and inning, he struck out 45 times in 233 plate appearances, but overall, hit .313/.339/.571 when starting an inning Now, we need the PbP data to compare that to Roberts. same stats for Roberts in 2007: - had 36 PA's that started with an 0-2 count, resulting in 10 K's, 9 hits (1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR). - leading off an inning, he K'd 38 times in 274 PA's, overall hitting .292/.372/.444 when starting an inning so, PA's that started 0-2 result in K's 39% of the time for Soriano, 28% for Roberts when leading off an inning, Soriano K'd 19% of the time, while Roberts K'd 14% I should add that when leading off an inning, Soriano had 13 HR, 13 doubles and 3 triples while Roberts had 4 HR, 23 doubles and 1 triple also, Roberts' splits for PA's in the 1st inning (2007) are just .222/.305/.333 with 1 HR and 12 doubles. So, wrigley23 wants to talk about Roberts having a 40 point edge in OBP (thus should be the leadoff hitter), while in the FIRST INNING (ie the only inning you can guarantee the guy will actually lead off), Soriano held a 34 point edge in OBP

Do you have the PbP data to back up how often your hypothetical scenario happens or are you just pulling it out your ass and hoping we'll accept it as fact? I do! in 2007, Soriano had 69 plate appearances that started with an 0-2 count. He struck out 27 times out of 69, 14 hits (3 2B, 4 HR) Overall, leading off and inning, he struck out 45 times in 233 plate appearances, but overall, hit .313/.339/.571 when starting an inning

Skiles hasn't been successful? I don't agree with that at all. In Phoenix he went 40-22, 51-31 then 25-26. They were 27-23 the year before he was hired and 13-7 when he was hired. After he was fired they went 11-20, 44-38 and 29-53. Chicago had been awful for five and a half years before he got there. He went 19-47, then 47-35, 41-41 and 49-33 before this year's poor 9-16 start that got him fired. Both coaching stops he promptly improved the team, and in Phoenix the team dipped after he left (before, of course, the Steve Nash signing). Chicago is 12-15 by my count post-Skiles. It seems he wears out his welcome quickly. That, however, is not surprising for any NBA coach, much less a hard-nose like Skiles. It's also less of a concern in college, where players are only there for a few years and they're not millionaires. Exactly. Skiles biggest downfall in the NBA is that NBA stars dont like his hard ass style. His teams have alwasy been known for busting their ass, and playing great defense. That style will work with college age kids, but NBA egomaniac prima donas dont like it. I know as a Illini fan, i really hope this isnt true, because I dont look forward to having to play a Skiles team who busts their ass, and plays great d. Hard-ass is the best way to describe him. I used hard-nosed because I wasn't sure about using "ass" on the board. Skiles is so perfect for IU (thought so two years ago), I can only hope the administration isn't too myopic. Don't worry though, they will be. Skiles being a hard-ass is good for the program or good for IU fans? big difference.

WARNING: NUMBERS FORTHCOMING In his career, Soriano bats best in these situations: - as a LF - batting 1st (followed by a tiny sample size batting 6th, then batting 5th) - on a 3-1 count (duh) - with the bases empty (okay, slightly better with runners on 1st and 3rd, but it's a 900 PA difference in sample size) - the 6th inning, followed closely by the 1st inning - the first time he faces a pitcher in a game (followed by the 3rd) so, where should we bat him.....

skiles made some awful decisions when it came to lineups and playing time for his players on the Bulls this year.

Thats not true at all. He took over a pathetic Bulls team and helped lead them to a playoff series win last year. Skiles will be a great hire for IU Skiles is perfect for college, by the time he wears thin on his players they will be ready to graduate. That has always been his problem. He does well for awhile, then his players get sick of his in your face style. College will eliminate a lot of that. but can he recruit? that's not given, regardless of his ties to Indiana I would think the combination of IU and the fact he coached in the NBA(like Cal at Memphis) would be enough to recruit. well, we'll see. they could certainly do worse.

Thats not true at all. He took over a pathetic Bulls team and helped lead them to a playoff series win last year. Skiles will be a great hire for IU Skiles is perfect for college, by the time he wears thin on his players they will be ready to graduate. That has always been his problem. He does well for awhile, then his players get sick of his in your face style. College will eliminate a lot of that. but can he recruit? that's not given, regardless of his ties to Indiana

He was a bad man. Supposedly he lost to Ronnie Fields though in a high school dunk contest. Look at this one. :shock: i'm even more ashamed of my whiteness now. that boy has hops

Yeah, there' a lot of talk in here about basketball from people that don't know basketball. I know it to the extent that I played it in college and have helped coach it. I don't really understand the per issue. I guess it includes defense, or at least hope it would as it is a pretty big part of the game. I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about people commenting on players when it's clear that they don't even watch basketball. I still think that Kemp was as much a freak as Howard. Howard just has the fortune of not having to dunk in an era with other superstars who want to try the dunk contest. I would love to see LeBron and Kobe and Vince go at each other one time. Although Vince's knee might prevent that from happening at this point. Kemp had the benefit of moving like a guard while still being 6'10 or whatever he was. No doubt about it that he was a complete freak. But Dwight does it at 270 pounds. If Dwight had done his off the back of the backboard windmill in the contest that jordan and dominique were jumping from freethrow lines and doing two hand reverses, Dwight would have won by 20 points. Those dunks wouldn't get you out of the first round any more. For the record, LeBron says he's not a good contest dunker and neither is Kobe, really. Not in the vein of what we saw last night. There's only so much innovation you can do with a ball in your hand, and I think we both know that Kobe is going to be putting on a Superman cape and dancing at midcourt. Gerald Green can get higher than Kobe by a good 6 inches. Lebron dominated a HS dunk contest on ESPN, but he was dunking against white guys and just throwing the ball off the backboard. The dunk contest has been innovated now. I am aware of this, but the superstars make the thing. Tomorrow Gerald Green goes back to being a nobody at the end of the bench for the Wolves. I still think Vince had a better performance than anyone last night and didn't have to resort to using props. He just wrong way 360ed with a huge windmill and looked like he just easily did it. the dunk where Vince hung from his elbow on the rim is probably the most underrated dunk in contest history I don't know how he didn't break his arm. I used to be able to dunk, not to that level at all, but I don't get how you don't break your arm doing that dunk. i remember watching him do that one and then getting low scores because i don't think people realized exactly what he did. how high do you have to jump to get your arm down into the basket like that? sick and i'm jealous of people who can dunk. i'm 6'3" and i can barely touch the rim. i have zero hops

Yeah, there' a lot of talk in here about basketball from people that don't know basketball. I know it to the extent that I played it in college and have helped coach it. I don't really understand the per issue. I guess it includes defense, or at least hope it would as it is a pretty big part of the game. I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about people commenting on players when it's clear that they don't even watch basketball. I still think that Kemp was as much a freak as Howard. Howard just has the fortune of not having to dunk in an era with other superstars who want to try the dunk contest. I would love to see LeBron and Kobe and Vince go at each other one time. Although Vince's knee might prevent that from happening at this point. Kemp had the benefit of moving like a guard while still being 6'10 or whatever he was. No doubt about it that he was a complete freak. But Dwight does it at 270 pounds. If Dwight had done his off the back of the backboard windmill in the contest that jordan and dominique were jumping from freethrow lines and doing two hand reverses, Dwight would have won by 20 points. Those dunks wouldn't get you out of the first round any more. For the record, LeBron says he's not a good contest dunker and neither is Kobe, really. Not in the vein of what we saw last night. There's only so much innovation you can do with a ball in your hand, and I think we both know that Kobe is going to be putting on a Superman cape and dancing at midcourt. Gerald Green can get higher than Kobe by a good 6 inches. Lebron dominated a HS dunk contest on ESPN, but he was dunking against white guys and just throwing the ball off the backboard. The dunk contest has been innovated now. I am aware of this, but the superstars make the thing. Tomorrow Gerald Green goes back to being a nobody at the end of the bench for the Wolves. I still think Vince had a better performance than anyone last night and didn't have to resort to using props. He just wrong way 360ed with a huge windmill and looked like he just easily did it. the dunk where Vince hung from his elbow on the rim is probably the most underrated dunk in contest history