Derwood

I think the rule should be 2 max per conference, except when a conference has a team in the NC game and a 3rd can then play.

Clearly they are. In their minds they might think they are striving for greatness, but to them, greatness is just getting to the playoffs. They thought they were great in 2003 and 2004, when they failed to win 90 games. Hendry has over a decade of "contend within the division" drilled into his head, and that's obviously what they have sought out to do. They see STL won it with 83 next year, and hope they can win 84 this year. Cubs leadership is simple minded, and they rely heavily on a fan base that goes gaga when the team is above average. Be above average two years in a row and the masses will genuflect in your honor. Hendry was embarrassed by a 90 win team last year. His intentions were clearly to not be that bad again. He didn't want to have to rely on young pitchers that could be absolutely abysmal. So, he went out and acquired guys who stood a good chance at being average. If he wins 85 games next year, he'll probably be rewarded with a contract extension, barring a sale to an owner that wants to make a complete organizational overhaul. If he just gets them back to average, he'll be praised for building a team that contends within the division. And he stands a chance of getting the team's overall record under his leadership to .500 with 83 wins this year, back to their original goal of being average. Their motivation is embarrasment for being the worst. They've shown no interest in being the best. They just want to be good enough to not stand out at the bottom of the barrel. I think having by far the highest payroll in the division belies the idea of just striving for average. I won't argue that the personnel decisions have been questionable at times, but striving for average would probably also mean spending like Cincy or Milwaukee

It's a down year in the Big 10, so I like Penn State's chances of going at least .500 in conference and maybe getting a tourney invite.

Prolly didnt want to risk Quinn throwing another pick since he seems to be pretty good at that. Um.....just 6 picks all year (including today). Not sure what you're talking about Quinn hasn't been too good today. He's been much more inaccurate than usual. yes, he hasn't been great, but it's not like he's Rex Grossman out there with the picks

Prolly didnt want to risk Quinn throwing another pick since he seems to be pretty good at that. Um.....just 6 picks all year (including today). Not sure what you're talking about

As I said, i'll be cheering for them the whole way this year, but I don't see them as dominating as their record indicates.

Why wouldn't the Bears fans hold hope? Jesus, they have the 1st seed in playoffs and have rolled the NFC this year. Dude, you saw three Bears games the whole year and those games they weren't very good so your view is obviously going to be slanted negative. No offense, you probably know less about the team then the average Bears fan. This team has rolled some good teams including 2 possible first round playoff matchups. Despite their recent lackluster performance, they are still the class of the NFC. The NFC is terrible. I wouldn't bet against New Orleans in a head-to-head with the Bears. If Dallas regains confidence against Seattle, I'd call a Dallas vs. Bears matchup a coin flip. Listen, I haven't had the access to the Bears that I did during my 12+ years in Chicago. I only got national games (some of which I missed due to work) so of course my view is limited by the games I saw plus what I've read here. I also know that the last two times the Bears went into the playoffs with home field and/or first round byes, they got rolled by the Eagles and Panthers.

Cy Young is the all time leader in losses.

BTW, I hope the Bears win it all this year, but I'm realistic enough to see a team that hasn't been dominant for many games and had a comparatively easy schedule compared to some other NFC contenders.

Okay, fine, people hate Eli in NY (I know I hate him). But do Giants fans still hold hope for a Super Bowl? Bears fans do despite not really being impressive since the first half of the year.

Arizona, NYG and New England I think

Isn't Eli getting booed by the fans in New York? By the way Derwood, you're coming up on quite a posting milestone there... Maybe Eli is getting booed, but I'm not hearing the NFL analysts rallying for his backup to be put in (perhaps because the backup is crap, but still...) I've only seen the Bears play 2 or 3 times this year, but I found them to be the least impressive 13-3 team I've seen since, well, the last 13-3 Bears team.

The fact that we're even doubting our QB at all at this time of the year bodes badly for the Bears. Good or bad, guys like Eli Manning have the support of their fans and coaches. You don't want your team going into the postseason with any doubts or controversy

Would you say that they were, what, 11-5 last year despite Kyle Orton?

No, she doesn't. She gets a Hall of Fame vote based on 10 years or more of BBWAA membership before joining mlb.com. Active members of the BBWAA vote for Cy Young, MVP and the like. Carrie was a BBWAA member from her days as a wire-service reporter for UPI and AP. Ah, my mistake. I lumped her in with Celzic and those guys.

Penn State (9-4) hosts Northwestern (10-3) in the Big 10 opener today. The game has been subtitled "The first step towards both teams falling below .500"

It may have been a disappointing loss, but I can live with the Bulls giving a Western Conference powerhouse a game for 47 minutes and 55 seconds.

Yeah, but they can still win the AP poll. The AP is no longer affiliated with the BCS, so I'm not sure anyone would recognize a #1 in the AP as being a co-National Champ

Guess who gets to vote for stuff like MVP, etc. as well...

Another marquee matchup not on national TV. I really hate TNT/ESPN's manlove for all things Dallas/San Antonio/Miami

Boise St. officially can't win the NC, as I learned today that the new BCS rule is that the coaches HAVE to put the winner of the BCS title game at #1 in their final rankings.

for whatever reason, extreme cockiness and bad sportsmanship seems to be 10 times worse with WR's than any other position. Hilarious, since they are completely powerless if they are never thrown the ball

Sounds like he's totally ready for the NFL. Well, yeah. I suppose so. I just don't prefer the "I'm bigger than the game itself" attitude. He IS Keyshawn's protégé. Right, because Keyshawn has had SUCH an illustrious NFL career.

I have no idea what I'll be doing this summer. Maybe I can start a game thread from France this summer :)

yep, it's a smart coach who knows when to play into a defense's read of your "tendencies"