jnidey83

This draft has brought me out of my lurker status. As can probably be deduced from my hometown, I am obviously in the tank for Meyers, so I can only achieve a modicum of objectivity. I think you're right, though. A lot of people, even here (meaning locally), were questioning his decision to declare, but the combine+workout reviews have really rocketed his stock. I think things are still in flux, but it is a good sign to see him invited to the draft. As someone who has been able to follow Meyers and his class since middle school, I know his upside is tremendous. I do know, however, that his stock is based, in large part, on potential, so it could go either way.

Don't know. Like I said, Muskat said it wasn't a likely deal, but it's better than what the locals suggest on the Post-Dispatch forums, which said that if the Cubs were smart, they'd just eat the contract. Oh, to be a Cardinals fan... ](*,) I'm not going on Muskat, I'm going on a Boston Globe reporter bloghttp:// http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2009/12/bradley_one_exp.html?comments=all#readerComm My bad, I didn't mean to infer you were.

Don't know. Like I said, Muskat said it wasn't a likely deal, but it's better than what the locals suggest on the Post-Dispatch forums, which said that if the Cubs were smart, they'd just eat the contract. Oh, to be a Cardinals fan... ](*,) Edit: Edes dismissed it again, but said the Sox would be eating "a ton of dough" with a straight swap of Lowell to Rangers. That gives the three-way deal more credence, but Edes infers the Cubs were told straight out "no."

Sorry for the double post, but while she says it's an unlikely deal, Muskat's twitter says a Cubs official isn't dismissing a Bradley for Lowell deal. I think this will come out crappy for the Cobs no matter what, myself.

If you're talking about the same thing, thanks for the info. If not, sorry.

I'm not doubting you, but do you have a link for that? If it was on TV or the radio, I wouldn't know, living in Deadbird land, but I would appreciate a link if it was online.

I don't think it's that likely. It didn't happen when Michigan lost to OSU a few years ago, and Florida had a loss that year. I'm not an expert on voters though. The problem is the first deserving team after Texas this year would be a mid-major. We'll see how responsive the pollsters are to that. And IMO, that's the big part of it. The computers have Cincy at 3rd as of this last week's rankings, even though TCU was ahead overall. Add the fact that Cincy played later than TCU, as well as the fact that the computers don't consider margin of victory, and who knows. ETA: what I mean by "big part" is the pollsters' aspect.

Wasn't this the first year Big Ten teams were allowed to play after Thanksgiving? Illinois must be the only ones who took advantage of it. http://blogs.sj-r.com/illinitalk/index.php/2009/03/31/illinois-football-schedule-gets-another-twist/ That explains in some detail the peculiar Illinois football schedule. It was my understanding that they thought they would have two warm-up OOC cames in preparation for a bowl. But they ended up sucking instead.

ones on ABC and the other is on ESPN i thought I'm back home for the weekend about two hours from Champaign-Urbana, and the Illini game is blacked out here...anyone know what's going on? Tech-Miami is on ABC, and ESPN says it's not available. ETA: what Derwood said, except the other way around.

Saw this on foxsports.com under the "rumors" section- it is just that...not saying I like the move or that it will ever happen, but here it is: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/tampa-bay-rays-will-change-next-season-but-how-much/1038791

No kidding. I moved here for grad school and am thankful that the Bears and Rams almost never play at the same time this season (or so it seems). It's bad enough not getting to hardly watch the Cobs (well...) but not getting to watch the Bears would be a tragedy, especially with the RAMS as an alternative. Edited for double post...good to see Romo come out good, if only for the fact we went to the same school.

I heard Jose Hernandez is our emergency catcher Seriously though, who is the emergency catcher? I remember hearing it was Theriot at one point. Not that it matters but just curious. Wells or Marmol. I'm almost certain it's Miles, but he's on the DL obviously. ETA: of course Wells and Marmol are both converted catchers, so you are right in Miles' absence.

I generally lurk but have some additional info on this. BleacherReport's article is listed as "previews/predictions" and is not confirmation of a trade. I had to jimmy around on the site a little bit and the main Chicago-related news is the perfect game. Link: http://bleacherreport.com/mlb scroll down and it's on the right

ESPN also confirming.

Wittenmeyer is saying Chad Qualls is also on the radar, although I think he's a righty. The thought is that a "mid-level" deal can be made, for a reliever and/or a catcher, if Soto looks like he will be out beyond early August. Link: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/07/cubs-can-add-pieces-at-deadline.html ETA: Nothing was mentioned about Sanchez, although he would be great to acquire.