SouthSideRyan

GIFT

Yep, awful news that the 1st Cubs GM to bring the team to consistent respectability would get an extension. Worst. News. Ever. Not saying I agree with everything he does or even his overall philosophy, but, hey, we could have Ed Wade or Ned Colletti. Hmmmm....consistent respectability. That's quite a standard of success. Hendry has basically been given an open checkbook since he started and the Cubs have one playoff series win to show for it. If "consistent respectability" is what Cub fans are looking for then I guess Hendry has done a great job. "Consistent respectability" is a lot better than watching the Cubs of the 50's and 60's go through 20 years of 4th and 5th (and lower) place finishes. To be honest, a GM can only put together a team that is strong "on paper", the performance is basically up to the players, coaches, and manager. According to the "experts", Hendry put together the best team "on paper" in the NL (and maybe in all of baseball). The players slumped at the wrong time (or choked) and the Cubs lost 3 in a row, but it doesn't diminish the fact that Hendry assembled a 97-win team. .....which means absolutely nothing. He may have "assembled a 97 win team" in the regular season, but somehow his handpicked "best team "on paper"" can't quite make that leap in the postseason. I don't want to be one of those Cub fans who 30 years from now is still waiting for a World Series win and I'm not going to give Hendry any props until it happens. He has had a financial advantage that no other Cub G.M. has ever had, so back-to-back division titles sure isn't much of a return on the humongous amount of money he has been allowed to spend. The playoffs are a crapshoot. You can't blame Hendry for what happened. He put together a great team, and that is all a GM can do. I just wonder if all the people who are lessening the Cubs loss in the playoffs by calling it a crapshoot would be doing the same thing had the Cubs gotten to the World Series. Would it be a crapshoot then? This has been argued before. Just because we view the postseason as influenced by luck doesn't mean we can't enjoy when the Cubs win those games, luck be damned. At that point you don't care why they won a game, because they won a damn game.

Horrible idea by Iwamura. He got lucky.

I can't see them going any better than 2-2. As of now they'd only be favored against Purdue. Minnesota is not a very good team. The dome is not a difficult place to play. Illinois is on the road but I think overall they're fairly equal teams. Zook is 0-3 against Ferentz despite having more talent in two of the three games. They should beat Purdue at home. Penn State is obviously damn good and they'll be an underdog at home. I'd say Minnesota right now has the better resume. Their only loss is better than any of Iowa's losses. I'd put the teams' best wins as even. (Illinois is probably a little better than Wisky and the game was in Champaign, but Iowa dominated Wisconsin, and Minnesota won a close one) Beyond that, every win is filler.

Swung on BELTED!

A weaker division? The NL Central was pretty clearly the best division in the NL this year. O.K., point taken...and what about the rest of the post? We differ on our beliefs of the ability to build a team for the playoffs. There's little sense arguing it.

A weaker division? The NL Central was pretty clearly the best division in the NL this year.

I can't see them going any better than 2-2. As of now they'd only be favored against Purdue.

I changed my survivor pick to the Titans at the last minute to replace Tampa. I'll probably murder a small child if this costs me.

but not THE U go gophers I have never heard anyone call Minnesota the U. Probably cause they'd be too embarrassed that they were supporting a team called the Golden Gophers. I mean seriously? The U?

In case anyone missed it earlier.

I could have gone to the Blues/Blackhawks game tonight, but didn't because of this. Once again our team is not showing up. Seriously, I feel like I'm watching the NLDS again, it just doesn't hurt quite as much... Shoulda went to the zoo.

I see what you did there.

And more ability and a better contract.

OK, where do the experts show him going in the draft exactly? The "experts" have no idea where anyone will get drafted at this point of the year and the good ones don't make deep projections because they know that. If he leaves, he'll be drafted by round 4 at the latest where he's an extremely safe bet to make the team. And because he's 23, obviously isn't a big fan of being a student and has little to gain next year by coming back, he will (should) likely enter. Barring extreme circumstance, I don't understand why you'd recommend a 4th rounder leave early.

Our defense effin blows.

Yes, Iowa is the biggest threat. Not Ohio State. Northwestern's my favorite for the Rose Bowl this year too.

Thanks again kicker.

League starts 2 RBs, no flex. I have Peterson, Jacobs, and Chris Johnson. My QB is a revolving door of suck. (right now Pennington/Palmer) Other teams with any sort of QB depth. Rodgers & P. Manning Rivers & Roethlisberger Brees & Delhomme Warner & Campbell I've also been offered McNabb for Jacobs. Thoughts?

Ole Miss in the red zone.

wazzu is one of the most fascinating teams in college football to me, mostly because i can't remember a bcs team being this bad. i mean, duke and baylor and vandy are usually bad, but this is another level of bad. they don't belong on the field with just about anyone they've played this year. Temple before the Big East booted them.

That was a hell of a catch by Hartline.

Fear not though, the ESPNNews broadcast is giving me a live look-in of Duke/Miami!!!

I get Ohio State/MSU on ABC. I don't get to watch KU/OK because I'm going to get PSU/UM on ESPN. Therefore, rather than show the start of KU/OK. I get ESPNNews. Screw you.

He also needs to stop calling them the 'Dores.