NCCubFan

I refuse to believe there's even the slightest possibility that Gaudin would be non-tendered (unless there's a secret injury issue that we don't know about).

There was no chance that he makes the team this past year either, yet he did.

I can't imagine someone holding all the records Rickey Henderson has could miss the first ballot. That said, I'm sure there will be writers who don't vote for him because he played in the steroid era/if Babe Ruth wasn't unanimous no one should be/he talked in the third person. I doubt more than 25% of the writers will use that reasoning though. He played for a quarter of a decade, and his prime was not in the steroid era. Not to mention his numbers began to decline when this began to pop up more. I don't think this is even a thought for anyone with a vote. Two and a half years? :D

Counting 2008 the Trib has owned the Cubs for 27 years and made it to the playoffs 6 times (1984, 1989, 1998, 2003, 2007, and 2008). If I'm doing the math correctly that's not even remotely close to "10% or less of the time."

or Snider never heard of him Duke Snider.

So Rickey is competing against himself. He doesn't stand a chance. :D

Seriously, this crap doesn't belong in this thread.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081202&content_id=3698314&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb I do think it's appropriate for Baseball Discussions, so I'll move it there.

Other. Hendry is a stupid idiot that doesn't think we need draft picks.

It sticks in my mind it's usually around the end of July.

By first place I meant points. No really I meant points not overall standings. You don't believe me? Well well ... yeah ok I miscalculated and I'm still in second. Thanks for giving back 2nd place and the overall points title. I had something to do with that. :( Getting single digits from Peyton Manning is not conducive to winning in fantasy football. Don't be too hard on yourself, I've got the best score in the league so far and I still have Andre Johnson playing tonight. Even if you had started Ryan over Manning, you still be losing. Looks like if everything stays on track the first round of the playoffs should go pretty smoothly as well. I've got Anquan going against Stl and I've got the same Den/KC matchup that helped me to over 160pts in week 4. I wasn't really trying to be hard on myself. I clinched a playoff spot with a couple weeks remaining in the regular season; I'm not that concerned about my seeding going into the playoffs, because in the leagues I've been in (both baseball and football) rarely has the regular season champion also won the playoffs (including last year in our league when I won the playoffs but not the regular season).

I don't think that's possible, because there won't be new ownership by Monday. There isn't new ownership until the Trib decides what bid to accept and the new ownership is approved by the owners.

That's the bowl most likely to have the BSU v. BSU game. Rick Chryst the MAC Commish said he is talking to WAC commish and Motor City Bowl guys to get it done but Boise is resisting because they want it to played at their home field (sound scared to me). Both schools are in talks right now and Ball State has already said no to playing it in Boise. It's still unlikely but its really up to a bowl to step up and ignore tie-ins or Boise to quit demanding it be played in Boise. The Independence Bowl that Andy mentioned previously would be a good fit because both conference tie-ins fell short of having enough teams qualify to fill all of their slots. The game is supposed to be Big 12 vs. SEC, but Colorado (after losing to Nebraska) and Auburn (after losing to Alabama) are both ineligible, leaving both conferences short. From what I've read Ball State is willing to play in a bowl at a neutral site but it's Boise State that's balking (unless it were to play TCU).Louisiana Tech is most likely going to the Indy Bowl. They're not gonna trade it to travel some place half across the country when they can play 70 miles from home. The bowl can invite who ever they want. Its not Louisiana Tech's to trade. What CubbieBum said. The bowl chooses the team, the team doesn't choose the bowl. Since the Independence Bowl is supposed to be Big 12 vs. SEC but neither conference had enough qualifiers the bowl selection committee can invite whichever eligible teams they choose. They might choose to invite Louisiana Tech, but it's their decision, not the school's.

That's the bowl most likely to have the BSU v. BSU game. Rick Chryst the MAC Commish said he is talking to WAC commish and Motor City Bowl guys to get it done but Boise is resisting because they want it to played at their home field (sound scared to me). Both schools are in talks right now and Ball State has already said no to playing it in Boise. It's still unlikely but its really up to a bowl to step up and ignore tie-ins or Boise to quit demanding it be played in Boise. The Independence Bowl that Andy mentioned previously would be a good fit because both conference tie-ins fell short of having enough teams qualify to fill all of their slots. The game is supposed to be Big 12 vs. SEC, but Colorado (after losing to Nebraska) and Auburn (after losing to Alabama) are both ineligible, leaving both conferences short. From what I've read Ball State is willing to play in a bowl at a neutral site but it's Boise State that's balking (unless it were to play TCU).

I'm in two leagues. Collins was my starting QB in one and Manning in the other. Not surprisingly I lost both (although I'm still in the playoffs in one of the leagues).

By first place I meant points. No really I meant points not overall standings. You don't believe me? Well well ... yeah ok I miscalculated and I'm still in second. Thanks for giving back 2nd place and the overall points title. I had something to do with that. :( Getting single digits from Peyton Manning is not conducive to winning in fantasy football.

Both columnists in ESPN.com's weekly bowl projections are now projecting North Carolina State as an opponent for Ball State in the Motor City Bowl. Its supposed to be MAC vs. Big 10, but with Ohio State expected to get an at-large BCS bid and everyone else in the Big 10 moving up a rung that would leave them one qualifier short when it comes to the Motor City Bowl.

Heard anything more lately about the possibility of BSU vs. BSU? Is there still a chance, or does it seem to be dead?The sideline reporter of the Boise/Fresno game said that if Ball State doesn't agree to come to Boise, they'll probably go play TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl. The Independence Bowl is out there as a possibility, though, if Boise is willing to do this on a neutral field. Could the Humanitatian Bowl even invite Ball State, though? There are 10 ACC teams that are bowl-eligible, so I'm under the impression one of them would have to be invited (since the Humanitarian Bowl is supposed to be WAC vs. ACC).

Heard anything more lately about the possibility of BSU vs. BSU? Is there still a chance, or does it seem to be dead?

I think it used to be in January but got moved up. I think it used to come after the announcement of those elected by the writers.

Actually, I think that scenario could work in Texas' favor. It would eliminate any possibility of Oklahoma being ranked higher than Texas, and therefore might increase Texas' chances of playing in the national championship game against the Alabama-Florida winner. what he's saying is that since it's assumed that an OU win will put them ahead of texas and into the big 12 championship, texas and texas fans are saying that they should finish ahead of ou because they beat teh sooners head-to-head. if osu wins, then it will be texas tech going to the big 12 championship, and texas fans will have their own argument used against them. True; my point was that the irony is that, even though it would work against Texas as far as the Big 12 championship game is concerned, it could work FOR Texas as far as the national championship game is concerned. It would eliminate one potential roadblock from the path to the title game. Kind of like losing the battle to win the war. Not necessarily. Last year Georgia was ranked fourth (ahead of LSU at No. 5/No. 7 and Oklahoma at No. 9/No. 8 in AP/Coaches), behind Missouri, WVU and Ohio State. But after LSU won the SEC title game and Oklahoma won the Big 12 title game, Georgia stayed at No. 4 behind both LSU and Oklahoma in both polls. So if Oklahoma loses today and Texas Tech wins the Big 12 title game, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Tech jumps Texas in the final standings. I would think Texas' best chance is if Oklahoma wins today but loses to Missouri next week. Actually, I think Texas' best bet would actually be for Oklahoma State to win tonight, then for Missouri to beat Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game. I wasn't trying to say that Texas definitely would make the national champonship game, though, just that I thought their chances might be better that way. What you say about Tech jumping Texas is possible, and I also think it would be possible for Alabama and Florida to be 1-2 even after the SEC championship game (especially if that game is very close).

Actually, I think that scenario could work in Texas' favor. It would eliminate any possibility of Oklahoma being ranked higher than Texas, and therefore might increase Texas' chances of playing in the national championship game against the Alabama-Florida winner. what he's saying is that since it's assumed that an OU win will put them ahead of texas and into the big 12 championship, texas and texas fans are saying that they should finish ahead of ou because they beat teh sooners head-to-head. if osu wins, then it will be texas tech going to the big 12 championship, and texas fans will have their own argument used against them. True; my point was that the irony is that, even though it would work against Texas as far as the Big 12 championship game is concerned, it could work FOR Texas as far as the national championship game is concerned. It would eliminate one potential roadblock from the path to the title game. Kind of like losing the battle to win the war.

Actually, I think that scenario could work in Texas' favor. It would eliminate any possibility of Oklahoma being ranked higher than Texas, and therefore might increase Texas' chances of playing in the national championship game against the Alabama-Florida winner.

NC State beat Miami to become bowl eligible today. That probably reduces the chances of a BSU vs. BSU matchup in the Humanitarian Bowl (even if BSU-Indiana were willing to travel to BSU-Idaho), since the Humanitarian Bowl is supposed to get ACC #8 and there are 10 ACC teams eligible.

It wouldn't necessarily be in Boise. It could be in Shreveport (Independence Bowl) or Detroit (Motor City Bowl). Both of those are neutral sites which could have a BSU vs. BSU matchup if the pieces fall into place. they said during the Boise St. game that Boise St. would rather play TCU on a neutral field than BSU on a neutral field. They said they would only play BSU at home, and the Cardinals have said no way since when does boise st get to dictate who they play and what field they play on? As the WAC champion Boise State's automatic bid is to the Humanitarian Bowl. They'd have no say who their opponent is in that game, but they have total control over whether they play in another bowl as an at-large bid instead. If they don't like the location or opponent they could simply refuse the invitation and take their automatic invitation to the Humanitarian Bowl instead. Then it would be up to Ball State to decide whether they're willing to consider their position (which I think they might if they're shown enough green). Bottom line is both schools have complete control over whether they accept an alternative bid rather than their automatic bid as a conference champion.