CubbieBum

Welcome to the 2010 Predictions Contest! Laura and Derwood both said I was good to get this going. Contest has the same rules as in the past. They are pretty self explanatory but if you really need them they are in the 2008 thread. MLB.com will be used for all statistics. Entries due by NOON (CST) on April 9, 2009. This gives everyone the first series in Atlanta to judge what to predict. PLEASE ONLY POST ENTRIES IN THIS THREAD. THERE IS A SEPARATE THREAD FOR ALL DISCUSSION Good Luck and may you finish below me! Team Stats & Scoring 1. Number of Cubs wins, 2010 +350 for correct number +300 for being within 1 win +275 for being within 2 wins +250 for being within 3 wins +200 for being within 5 wins +050 for being within 10 wins 2. Number of Cubs wins, Cardinals season series (15 games) +150 for correct number +100 for being within 1 win +75 for being within 2 wins +50 for being within 3 wins +25 for being within 5 wins +10 for being within 10 wins 3. Number of runs scored, 2010 +300 for being within 5 runs +250 for being within 10 runs +200 for being within 20 runs +175 for being within 30 runs +150 for being within 40 runs +125 for being within 50 runs +100 for being within 60 runs +075 for being within 75 runs +025 for being within 100 runs 4. Number of runs allowed, 2010 +300 for being within 5 runs +250 for being within 10 runs +200 for being within 20 runs +175 for being within 30 runs +150 for being within 40 runs +125 for being within 50 runs +100 for being within 60 runs +075 for being within 75 runs +025 for being within 100 runs 5. Final Placement in the NL Central Division +200 for correct place +100 for one place off +50 for two places off Total Possible Team Stat Points: 1300 Player Stats & Scoring 1. Number of Aramis Ramirez Home Runs +50 for correct number +40 for being within 1 HR +35 for being within 2 HRs +30 for being within 3 HRs +25 for being within 4 HRs +20 for being within 5 HRs +10 for being within 10 HRs 2. Number of Soriano Games Played +50 for correct number +40 for being within 5 Games +30 for being within 10 Games +20 for being within 15 Games +10 for being within 20 Games 3. Ryan Theriot's Games Batting Leadoff +50 for correct number +40 for being within 5 Games +30 for being within 10 Games +20 for being within 15 Games +10 for being within 20 Games 4. Geovany Soto's Batting Average +50 for being within .005 +40 for being within .010 +30 for being within .015 +20 for being within .020 +10 for being within .025 5. Carlos Silva's Starts +50 for correct number +40 for being within 1 start +30 for being within 2 start +20 for being within 3 start +10 for being within 4 start +05 for being within 5 start 6. Randy Wells' ERA +50 for being within .10 +40 for being within .20 +30 for being within .30 +20 for being within .40 +10 for being within .50 7. Carlos Zambrano's Ks +50 for being within 20 +40 for being within 25 +30 for being within 50 +20 for being within 75 +10 for being within 100 8. Carlos Marmol's Saves +50 for correct number +40 for being within 1 +30 for being within 2 +20 for being within 3 +10 for being within 5 +05 for being within 10 Total Number of Possible Player Stat Points: 400 Bonus Questions I (20 points each) 1. Which will be higher: Soriano's RBIs or Soto's RBIs? 2. Which will be higher: Ted Lilly's starts 2009 (27) or Ted Lilly starts 2010? 3. Which will be higher: Jeff Baker's at-bats or Mike Fontenot's at-bats? 4. Who will have more HRs: Zambrano or Theriot? 5. Who will have more wins: Wells or Dempster? 6. Who will have a higher OBP: Byrd or Soriano? Total Possible MC Bonus Question Points: 180 Bonus Questions II (30 points each) 1. Most HRs: 2. Highest OBP (min. 400 ABs): 3. Lowest ERA (min. 150 IPs): 4. Most Quality Starts: Total Possible Bonus II Question Points: 120 Total Possible Points: 2000 The Annual Tiebreaker: Date of Lou Piniella's First Ejection (you may answer "never") To be used only in the event of ties.

Yeah, I still won't ever forget the run my team had to end the year either, but I can't pretend it's not stained a bit by today. As for the Big East, they SHOULD be done losing for the round, but that would depend on which Louisville team shows up tomorrow. It better be the good one because I'm already down 2 Sweet 16 teams. You picked Louisville to Sweet Sixteen? Yeah, I'm banking on Good Louisville for this weekend. I don't feel great about it - but then I didn't feel great about Butler to the Sweet 16 either and that looks alright so far. You are such a Big East homer/Duke hater.

Yeah, I still won't ever forget the run my team had to end the year either, but I can't pretend it's not stained a bit by today. As for the Big East, they SHOULD be done losing for the round, but that would depend on which Louisville team shows up tomorrow. It better be the good one because I'm already down 2 Sweet 16 teams. You picked Louisville to Sweet Sixteen?

:-$

Wow I am losing a lot of first round games. The upsets I picked are the few games that the higher seeds actually won. Oh and yeah the Big East is falling on its face.

For the most part the only people who are going to post about the NIT are going to be Illini fans. You guys would likely takeover the overall March Madness thread which is pretty universally about people's brackets and THE tournament. You guys would likely annoy the rest of us with the drama of Illini's games and we would annoy you by responding to them. This way you guys can post away from that and not be bothered. It's a win-win. You are a real piece of work. God forbid you be annoyed by our fandom. There is a reason why the Bulls and some other teams have there own thread. When the Illinois is in the NIT they should have their own thread. Not sure why you are complaining or throwing out insults.

For the most part the only people who are going to post about the NIT are going to be Illini fans. You guys would likely takeover the overall March Madness thread which is pretty universally about people's brackets and THE tournament. You guys would likely annoy the rest of us with the drama of Illini's games and we would annoy you by responding to them. This way you guys can post away from that and not be bothered. It's a win-win.

WOW. This has got to be one of the best starts to the tourney ever. On a down note the bracket I filled going solely on who Pomeroy had ranked higher is doing better than my actual bracket. I had ND while it had OD. I also had Vandy beating Butler and it had Butler beating Vandy.

You edited your bracket after the tourney started or you switched it up and am now glad because of all the lower seeds doing well.

RB sucks. I have a feeling that Nova is now going to get it together and ruin my Richmond upset pick in round two.

After this game I am going to watch the Vandy game on the comp and play video games. Boy am I going to miss doing this when ESPN takes over and refuses to put all games online for free.

You really, really don't want to start in with the Quinn [expletive] with me right now. http://www.wagering-odds.com/wp-content/uploads/kyle-orton.jpg http://dubsism.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/kyle-orton-hof-plaque.jpg

I picked ND, Nova and BYU but picked them all to lose second round.

play better in the regular season and that problem takes care of itself They had no business being a 6 seed anyways. You can't be out of the tournament with 2 weeks to go and then end up a 6 seed without even winning your conference tournament. The committee I think got the right teams in the tourney but they screwed up the seeds all over.

What's the storry with Byrd? He was a four star. He didn't see the floor much, but when he was out there he ran around looking like he knew what he was doing (unlike Bade). I wanted to see more, but Barlow was getting the minutes over him. Byrd is a guy I can see taking a big step forward next season. He's a better shooter than his numbers this year indicate, and at 6'5, he's bigger than Hart or Smith. I was not happy to see Smith out on the floor before him (or at all, for that matter). Agreed although that again was probably because Smith is a much better passer. Looking at it Smith had a 2.6 A/TO ratio.

You said top two, which is what we all took issue with. had you said one of the ebst, I know I wouldn't have laughed so hard. As for being the best next year, no way. Michigan State was better than you this year, and they bring back everyone but Morgan, and replace him with a top 5 recruiting class. For one Michigan State wasn't better than us. They were equal to us and that is with the Hummel stuff at the end. For two I said we may be the best if Barlow, Byrd, Bade and LewJack all step up/are more healthy. I don't think that is a stretch. If we lose Kramer and Grant and have four guys doing better that would make us a better team this year's team. Bade has a very long way to go to become a useful backup post player. Purdue better hope that Marcius is fully healthy and ready to play next season. What's the storry with Byrd? He was a four star. He didn't see the floor much, but when he was out there he ran around looking like he knew what he was doing (unlike Bade). I wanted to see more, but Barlow was getting the minutes over him. Not 100% sure his story. I know his ball handling skills aren't the best and he isn't capable of bringing the ball up when pressed. More than anything else I would say that is why Barlow played more. Byrd is a shooter and we don't need perimeter scoring with Moore, Hummel, Hart and Grant. He started out the season playing like crap and couldn't hit anything. He got benched around the time we turned it around (Hart got his minutes). After that we weren't losing and I remember Painter saying the reason Hart never played before his breakout game wasn't because he was bad in practice but rather that we were undefeated and he didn't want to mess with it. Byrd got benched for Hart and we didn't lose again until Hummel was down and Byrd was already getting minutes again.

Lol. Way to go out on a limb. You picked who many consider the favorite (with Lincecum) for NL Cy Young, the reigning AL Cy Young, the two guys who are always the favorites for the MVP's, and the big team favorites in both the AL and NL. Sorry I was looking through it and I couldn't help to have this reaction. It honestly looks almost identical to what a panel of ESPN experts would come up with (all the trendy picks).

Lucas played 29 minutes against Purdue when they lost at home by 12.

At least his new avatar is good. Archer is hilarious.

You said top two, which is what we all took issue with. had you said one of the ebst, I know I wouldn't have laughed so hard. As for being the best next year, no way. Michigan State was better than you this year, and they bring back everyone but Morgan, and replace him with a top 5 recruiting class. For one Michigan State wasn't better than us. They were equal to us and that is with the Hummel stuff at the end. For two I said we may be the best if Barlow, Byrd, Bade and LewJack all step up/are more healthy. I don't think that is a stretch. If we lose Kramer and Grant and have four guys doing better that would make us a better team this year's team.

And again, I think our program is better, but not by enough to make some ridiculous claim about being one of the top programs ever. Bum's done that and that's why,imo, most of us are making fun of Purdue at any turn. I actually root for you guys to do well. Which is a shame, that he pushes your (collective, Illinois) buttons I mean. Most of the Illinois fans around here are pretty knowledgeable and I look forward to reading what you guys have to say. It's all in good fun. You have a good nucleus, I am worried about how Hummel comes back next year. I played with two guys who tore ACLs. One was back and about the same the next year, one was pretty much done after he did it. The good thing Hummel has going for him is that most of his game isn't based on playing above the rim, the bad thing is going to be how he is able to guard the quicker players now. I really think you guys will be a top ten team next year, but I wouldn't be suprised to see the losses of Kramer and Grant hurt you a lot more than many on here are thinking. Kramer, while a d-bag, was first team defense all four years he was in conference and Grant has played a solid role as well. Trust me when I say sometimes freshman aren't ready to come in and be super solid from the get go. I'm not really counting on the freshman. Painter is annoying the piss out of me by refusing to recruit from outside the state or just across the Indiana border. I am hoping that Barlow steps up his game some. If he chooses to he could be a great perimeter defender due to his size and athleticism. He should, at the least, be able to pick up some of the slack in the offense created by Grant. D.J. Byrd should also be better and be able give us some scoring off the bench. Bade should also improve and be smarter making him a decent backup C. Add in LewJack most likely being more healthy and there for a lot more games and any freshman who is competent and Purdue should be just as good. Obviously if Barlow, Bade and Byrd don't get any better, no freshman can step in or LewJack continues to be hurt we will be quite a bit worse but if a couple of them are better Purdue is still top 10 and if all step up then Purdue may be the best next season. And I still stand by what I said. Purdue is historically one of the best in the Big Ten. If you want to start changing historically to the last 10, 20 or whatever years then that changes everything and I wouldn't say Purdue is nearly as strong.

Since conference play standardized in 1939 (i.e. the NCAA tournament came into being), Purdue has finished ahead of Illinois 35 times. Illinois has finished ahead of Purdue 34 times. So Purdue has finished ahead of Illinois more times than not? Thanks for clearing that up.

Lol. Did Lewis Jackson average his 20 a game? Was I totally wrong saying we would have a first team all big ten performer? Is Purdue the best mens basketball program of all time? Look, I'm sorry Illinois choked too much to make the tournament but you shouldn't make fun of fans of teams you are jealous off.