CubbieBum

I would say right now team as is we are the favorites and would win 85-90. If we get another pitcher and outfielder that raises to 95-100.

You talking baseball newspaper reporters or baseball ESPN pseudo reporters? ESPN lost all its journalistic integrity a decade ago and are solely entertainment. Most newspapers only report on fact still.

Could be worse. You could have finished 3rd in regular season and be playing in the 7th place game.

I would go with cocaine. West Lafayette High School is the rich boy (I'm not but went there) drug dealer school. Let me put it this way. The drug dealers at my high school sold to the Purdue drug dealers. I never did any illegal drugs but having a social life at West Side meant I was around it every party I went to. Cocaine was around sometimes but mostly very high quality pot. Everything changed after one year in college. I came back for visits during college and all of sudden cocaine was at almost every party. One of my friends from high school used to be the big drug dealer and he told me one time that cocaine had gotten really big in Bloomington. I still kind of look back and laugh that my high school was drug center but yet we were named a top 100 public high school in the country about 8 years ago and we are the top high school in the state grades, SAT's, and number of Ivy Leaguers. Just amazes me. My class had 17 valedictorians. 17 people who had perfect grades all through high school. Most of them went Ivy League. This is in a class of 117 mind you. Yet we are the drug dealers for northern Indiana.

Not excusing what Giles did in the slightest (I've expressed my eye for an eye ideas before) but it does say she was at a bar. Why was she at the bar when pregnant? Could be why he got pissed off. Obviously beating a woman is never even remotely ok and Giles should be sent to jail if all this is true which it certainly looks like it is.

If you keep it on topic and keep away from personal attacks, then it'll be allowed to stand. You'll allow it! *** Cubbiebum for the foreseeable future!!! ***

We had the best record in majors last year we don't NEED to do anything to be a contender. I think that is the approach the team has taken. They will get someone who will help eventually but won't overspend or give up too much. They'll wait until in season if they have to.

I thought no one. It's just nice validation for up and coming programs. It probably doesn't matter to you because UCLA is always ranked and is always a lock for the Tourney lately. But for a team like Northwestern, who hasn't been ranked since 1969, I would think it would be a neat level of accomplishment for them and a sign that people are noticing. Smaller things are cool about it as well. When they are showing score on ESPN during the week, your team shows up because they are ranked. A lot of the online sites for following games only have "Game Tracker" for games with a ranked team involved. Stupid stuff like that. I realize I took it on another tangent, but there is some value to the CBB rankings. Well, I wasn't referring to actually being ranked vs. not (especially for a program like NU which has had so little basketball success and even "also receiving votes" is a huge accomplishment). Northwestern and Purdue are in much different places and rankings shouldn't be much of a concern to a Purdue fan. I'm sure it doesn't matter to me quite as much as him but it still matters. People gripe about the rankings all over the country. I'm hardly in the minority in being annoyed with them. Andy griped sometimes last year about them and our roommate who is an IU fan did too. It's a sign of disrespect when you are ranked lower than you should be. Plus when it comes to rivalries I hate when I get told, "We a top 10 team and you not." Not necessarily that quote but something like it. HA is that a picture of the new renovations there doing for Mackey? I actually did a news story on the local news about it. They look pretty awesome Yeah I wanted a non player photo because everyone has player photos. The renovations won't be here anytime soon but when they are done raising the money and getting it built it will be one of the best in the country. [expletive] ridiculous to look at the specs.

Around the time for his supposed steroid use beginning. Sure teams have gotten along with players not liking each other but do you take the risk when you know it will happen ahead of time? Also Ruth and Gehrig were both huge fan favorites Bonds is the exact opposite. There are those out there, those on this board, that like Bonds. Also, I agree steroids helped him hit those walks...i mean...what? But in all reality, Bonds HR numbers didn't really explode until about 2000, before that they were pretty steady. So, I don't know where your steroid comment is coming from, really. It's coming from how they believe he started using around 1999. There's obviously no denying Bonds was a HoFer before 1999 and always had ridiculous plate patience. In 1999 he got hurt and started slowing down (both running and bat speed wise). His average dipped and thus so did his OBP. Then he started belting home runs better than ever before and started getting IBB's out the yin yang leading to a higher than anyone else before OBP. That's pretty much where it comes from.

Around the time for his supposed steroid use beginning. Sure teams have gotten along with players not liking each other but do you take the risk when you know it will happen ahead of time? Also Ruth and Gehrig were both huge fan favorites Bonds is the exact opposite.

QFT Whatever you guys want to believe, no team is gonna sign Bonds. I'm still a little surprised an AL team hasn't put their conscience on the back burner to sign him as a DH. I agree that no NL team would seriously consider him, though. I'm still not entirely convinced that it isn't a conspiracy. Wouldn't shock me in the least if it was. Or, it could just be a bunch of conservative owners not wanting to piss off their fan base (which the fans mostly would be until Bonds started producing like crazy). If he didn't produce immediately, the owner could risk taking a massive hit. This has always been my opinion. I really think there is some gentleman's agreement around the league not to sign him - I think MLB just wants to move on and forget he ever existed for now. I don't think they set out and said no one sign Bonds. I think they all talked about if they would ever pursue him and they all brought up the reason why they wouldn't. The reason why you would is because he can hit but at the same time he's very old so he might fall off. I think they pretty much came to the same conclusion but not because they some set out to have it happen. But no one knows nor will ever know. But that still doesnt explain why some AL team wouldn't throw him a small contract to see if he could continue to produce in a DH role. The reason why the wouldn't far out weighed why they would. He's a malcontent and a PR nightmare. Whoever signs him would immediately have team chemistry issues because i think you would be hard pressed to find one clubhouse where no one hated him. Also every fan would immediately by on the war path and anything else bad happening and you could lose a lot of the fan base.

I thought no one. It's just nice validation for up and coming programs. It probably doesn't matter to you because UCLA is always ranked and is always a lock for the Tourney lately. But for a team like Northwestern, who hasn't been ranked since 1969, I would think it would be a neat level of accomplishment for them and a sign that people are noticing. Smaller things are cool about it as well. When they are showing score on ESPN during the week, your team shows up because they are ranked. A lot of the online sites for following games only have "Game Tracker" for games with a ranked team involved. Stupid stuff like that. I realize I took it on another tangent, but there is some value to the CBB rankings. Well, I wasn't referring to actually being ranked vs. not (especially for a program like NU which has had so little basketball success and even "also receiving votes" is a huge accomplishment). Northwestern and Purdue are in much different places and rankings shouldn't be much of a concern to a Purdue fan. I'm sure it doesn't matter to me quite as much as him but it still matters. People gripe about the rankings all over the country. I'm hardly in the minority in being annoyed with them. Andy griped sometimes last year about them and our roommate who is an IU fan did too. It's a sign of disrespect when you are ranked lower than you should be. Plus when it comes to rivalries I hate when I get told, "We a top 10 team and you not." Not necessarily that quote but something like it.

QFT Whatever you guys want to believe, no team is gonna sign Bonds. I'm still a little surprised an AL team hasn't put their conscience on the back burner to sign him as a DH. I agree that no NL team would seriously consider him, though. I'm still not entirely convinced that it isn't a conspiracy. Wouldn't shock me in the least if it was. Or, it could just be a bunch of conservative owners not wanting to piss off their fan base (which the fans mostly would be until Bonds started producing like crazy). If he didn't produce immediately, the owner could risk taking a massive hit. This has always been my opinion. I really think there is some gentleman's agreement around the league not to sign him - I think MLB just wants to move on and forget he ever existed for now. I don't think they set out and said no one sign Bonds. I think they all talked about if they would ever pursue him and they all brought up the reason why they wouldn't. The reason why you would is because he can hit but at the same time he's very old so he might fall off. I think they pretty much came to the same conclusion but not because they some set out to have it happen. But no one knows nor will ever know.

It's too bad they don't have a tournament at the end of the year that makes these rankings pointless. ;) Wonderful for that tournament. However its 3 almost 4 months away at this point so rankings is all we have to debate about. Plus rankings do matter some (albeit little) because the higher you are judged nationally the better you tend to fare come seeding. Sure if Purdue plays well they will rise but that doesn't mean I can't be annoyed/pissed off that voters are being stupid.

Sure, Notre Dame lost to an "unranked" team, but Ohio State is now ranked and beat two top-25 teams in the same week, neither at home. It's unfair to paint that loss as a bad one. It wasn't. Also, Notre Dame has a win over Texas; Purdue has a win over . . . Boston College? Purdue has done little to nothing to deserve a ranking ahead of Notre Dame. Yeah I said last week they should be right next to each other in the polls. They are I believe four spots apart in the polls right now. The AP poll has it right. I also don't see how UCLA can be above them. Same number of losses but UCLA lost to Michigan. That's not knocking on Michigan, just as I wasn't knocking on Ohio State. Those two teams just aren't as a good as Duke or Oklahoma which is who Purdue has lost to. Notre Dame has an even bigger grievance with UCLA being above them in the ESPN/USA Today poll. ND beat Texas UCLA lost to them. Granted one wasn't at Texas and the other was but you can't have UCLA above ND.

Pretty much sums up my feelings. As I've said in the thread last year it would make me question supporting the Cubs while he's on the team. If we were to win the WS with him I would forever be stuck with Bonds as the symbol of ending our curse. I would rather shoot myself in the leg Plaxico style.

I was a little annoyed last week now I'm onto a little pissed off. Purdue goes 2-0 in the week and falls a spot in the polls. Also Notre Dame is still ahead of Purdue despite one of their losses being to an unranked team, while Purdue has two losses to top 6 teams.

you guys have some pretty lax "favorite team" rules in Indiana Come again? CubbieBum is a fan of like 4 teams. I thought I was quoting him (you both have Ball St. sigs) Ummm what??? I grew up in West Lafayette so I'm as big of a Purdue fan as it gets. I go to Ball State so I support them. That's it. The only other thing I've said is I root for the Big Ten in the non-conference which just about everyone does. Let's not throw insults at someone who has nothing to do with the conversation just to cover up your own mistake.

I don't know what to do. I've never had anything against Florida and I've already aired my transgressions against Oklahoma (add in the bball loss this year). I'll probably not really care who wins with maybe a tiny lean towards Oklahoma. Reason being the BCS. Say Oklahoma wins close and Texas wins big then the BCS will have a crap storm once again.

wow what? they can't believe that we've teamed up together like a captain planet By YOUR powers combined... dibs on fire ring IMB you get the heart ring

wow what?

the mind of cubbiebum i hate Texas Tech now because Shonn Greene was way more deserving of 5th place than Crabtree. Yeah cause that is what I said. Most sports fans dislike rivals of their team/favorite players. I dislike Heupel because he finished second in a Heisman vote with a 20-14 td-int ratio just as most of us dislike certain Cardinals players. yes, the vaunted purdue-oklahoma rivalry Seriously IMB do you read or just see what you want and then post about it without fully knowing what the person posted? I said rivals of your team/favorite players. In college Heupel was a rival of Brees' because they were both highly considered for the Heisman. I can remember watching Oklahoma games in 2000 routing for them to lose so Heupel would fall out. Same goes for Florida State and Weinke. i was agreeing with you. i remember the heated arguments i had with my friends when we were playing pick up games. "I get to be heupel!" "I get to be brees!" "No I want to be brees!" "NO IM BREES!" you couldn't go anywhere without hearing the question pop up, "who do you like better, brees or heupel?" it's a question that very nearly tore this nation asunder Ok my bad then I took that purdue/oklahoma rivalry post as you saying it didn't exist thus there's no reason for me to dislike Heupel.

the mind of cubbiebum i hate Texas Tech now because Shonn Greene was way more deserving of 5th place than Crabtree. Yeah cause that is what I said. Most sports fans dislike rivals of their team/favorite players. I dislike Heupel because he finished second in a Heisman vote with a 20-14 td-int ratio just as most of us dislike certain Cardinals players. yes, the vaunted purdue-oklahoma rivalry Seriously IMB do you read or just see what you want and then post about it without fully knowing what the person posted? I said rivals of your team/favorite players. In college Heupel was a rival of Brees' because they were both highly considered for the Heisman. I can remember watching Oklahoma games in 2000 routing for them to lose so Heupel would fall out. Same goes for Florida State and Weinke.

the mind of cubbiebum i hate Texas Tech now because Shonn Greene was way more deserving of 5th place than Crabtree. I hate Jason White for getting more votes than Adrian Peterson in 2004. Cubbiebum, you do realize that Weinke was 28 (?) when he won the Heisman, right? I personally don't think Heupel deserved the Heisman in 2000, either. Yes and like I said I don't like him either. You can ask Andy about me and Weinke. It was one of the things we agreed on last year. I don't like Weinke because of 2000 he doesn't like him because Carolina was the team that drafted him.