UMFan83

How freaking convenient. An injury that was not mentioned all season randomly is disclosed once he starts to do good and people wonder why he wasn't in earlier. Someone should have told Cutler that Devin A. was hurt when he was pining to the media for him to play more midway through the season.

I really don't have the heart to root for my team to lose even if it hurts us in the long term. Lovie isn't a great coach and has really messed up this team and we certainly could be much better coached, but despite all the bitching I'll do if they keep him I can live with it.

The "more" is the part that I disagreed with so strongly. As for "as", I would agree because of the position they are in, they have as good of a chance as the rest of the teams in the NFC. My original point was that I didn't think the Vikings were as good as their 10-1 record, and while they aren't as bad as the 1-3 they've put up since then, I think they are a slight notch below the elite in football. I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again, just my opinion.

Both teams had tons of chances to win this game but didn't. Vikings missed an XP, Gould straight up missed a FG which seriously never happens (sportscenter guy said "ive never seen Robbie Gould miss a FG in my life" lol), Bears dropped 1 game ending INT and got hands on another, Vikings could have stopped the Bears returners on special teams, Bears could have stopped the Vikings on 4th and game, etc. I enjoyed watching the game despite the fact that it was meaningless for the Bears. It was good to see that dancing hick Brett Favre possibly denied of a bye week by the Bears. Still wanna argue the Vikings are more legit of a SB Contender than anyone but the Colts and Saints hawkeye?

You dumb Blackhawks, play better.

With the win, the Hawks are just 1 point off the most points in the league and are 2nd overall in the league in points per game behind NJ, who has as many points as the Hawks with 1 less game played. If the Hawks win tomorrow, they will have the most points in the league ending the night, and if Pittsburgh loses to Toronto (not likely) tomorrow, we will have sole possession of most points in the league. Oh and the Hawks now have the best goal differential in the NHL. Just keep winning boys!

Fun stat of the day: The Bears have had just two 100 yard receivers this year. Devin Hester had 102 yards one week, and Matt Forte had 120 yards another week.

I would love to see it happen followed by the Eagles jumping them for the Bye Week spot. I said this earlier in the year, the Vikings are just not as good as their record. In addition to their 3 losses, they should have lost 2 more (vs. SF, @ Balt). They were a miraculous once in a lifetime throw and catch, and a missed 40 yard FG from being 9-5 instead of 11-3. While that's still a decent team (although they've had a pretty easy schedule with STL, CLE, DET (x2), SEA on their schedule), it's probably not a SB contender. I Think FO's DVOA said their offense is 9th in the league but their defense is 16th overall (and 25th against the pass). They are a above average team but I don't think they are one of the elite teams out there, especially if Favre keeps his usual December collapse going. I know. No one else in the NFL wins games they could have lost. Especially not the teams with good records. They're not invincible and they've been really bad in 2 of the last 3 games. They're still a top 5 team in the league this year. Yes the Vikings have the 30th easiest schedule this year. Know who is 29th? The Saints. Know who is 27th? The Eagles. Know who is 32nd? The Packers. The Cardinals and Cowboys are 24 and 25. They're more legit as a Super Bowl contender than anyone outside of the Saints and Colts. Agree to disagree. I just haven't been overwhelmingly impressed with your Vikings this year. Don't get me wrong, they are a good team but I think they are a slight step down from the creme of the crop in the league. Sorry to bag on your team but that's my opinion based on a little bit of fact (DVOA rankings, which aren't the end all be all of stats but they do tend to be pretty good stats).

See I want to agree with you but a very similar team to this one went 9-7 last year, and blew a couple games late that they should have won. Maybe that year was a fluke, maybe this one is, maybe it's in the middle. They have some pieces, and we'll never quite know how good they could have been with Briggs, Urlacher and Pisa at LB all year (I don't think they give up 45 to cincinnati, 41 to arizona, etc if they were in) But you are right, the Bears depth definitely got exposed this year, and that's all 100% on Angelo. He built a paper thin team that even the "paper" wasn't close to an elite team. We can go on all day about the errors the Bears made, but I think they have enough talent when healthy to be somewhere in the 13-17 range in terms of pure talent rankings. Factor in injuries, Turner, Lovie, etc and they look awful.

Niemi is a RFA this offseason meaning if a team out there needs a goaltender has capspace and is interested in Niemi they can throw a boatload at him and the Hawks won't match. So don't go trading Huet yet. The Preds this weekend should be fun. Don't discount the Preds. They couldn't score a lick to begin the season but have come on real strong as of late which is why their goal differential isn't great yet. Also they seem to have been able to give the Hawks fits at times in the past including this season. That said the Hawks are the better team. I'll be happy with 3 out of 4 points and live with a split but not be thrilled.

Yeah a lot of the mid tier FAs have to wait for the market to develop before they get their offers. That's how the offseason has gone the last 1-2 years.

Damn, I'm not used to getting 0 points at home.

Here is a good site to look at that http://hoopshype.com/salaries/chicago.htm The Bulls would be around $31 million without Thomas and Salmons, but then again you are talking about a team that has only 6 players signed at $31 million. Obviously if you can trade Hinrich that would make it a lot more likely

zero chance We might might get lucky to get one of the second tier of FAs, but that's only if enough of these people are looking to leave their current teams or aren't being offered max value. I'm talking something like Joe Johnson or Carlos Boozer. I think the Bulls if they haven't already should not even bother throwing any eggs into the Wade/James/Bosh basket and focus on an offseason plan of trying to sign Boozer and Johnson (supposedly according to ESPN1000 today they would have enough for both if Salmons opts out). Our lineup would be: Derrick Rose Joe Johnson Luol Deng Carlos Boozer Joakim Noah You have a facilitator and secondary scorer (Rose), you have a SG who is a shooter that can space the floor and also slash, you have Deng finally relagated to 4th option where his skills could best be used, you get your low post scorer who you have been dying to have who can give you muscle, and legitimacy to the low post to help everyone else out, and then you have your energy muscle guy, who is turning into a halfway decent help defender. You can even put Noah on the PF on defense and Boozer on the Center if it works out that way. Then if you have any money left, go for someone like Kyle Korver as a 7th or 8th man off the bench to help space the floor for the second unit. I'd probably rather have those 3 than just Wade, and although neither scenario is highly likely, the former scenario is a lot more likely than the latter. Joe Johnson seems like someone who would get attention from us. He's played in relative obscurity in Atlanta and before that Phoenix for most of his career and would likely enjoy stepping up in the spotlight a bit, plus Atlanta's management is having money issues and may not be able to pay JJ what he wants. Boozer has said nice things about Chicago in the past, is highly unlikely to go back to Utah so that leaves Miami or Chicago as main suiters. If Miami gets Bosh, Chicago is probably his number 1 option.

Thats exactly what I was going for

Capps: Yeah but Grabs, you showed me a copy of that contract. It was addressed to "1 (ONE) CRAPPY JOURNEYMAN LEFT HANDED RELIEVER". First of all, I'm righty, and I dunno I've had some good years, I don't think it will fly. Grabow: No no no don't worry I got ya, hang on (goes to the other room, pulls out a heavyset man who appears unkempt and sweating profusely) Jim, come here, don't be scared. JH: H-H-ey Mr. Capps, how are you? Would you like to play for our club? I will sign you for a year at 1.5 million. Capps: Nice to meet you Jim. I don't know I - JH: 3 million Capps: -have to ta- JH: 4 million Capps: -lk to my a- JH: 6 million Capps: -gent first. JH: 6 YEARS $60MILLION, A NO TRADE CLAUSE, A LUXURY SUITE FOR EVERY HOME GAME, AND A 7TH YEAR PLAYER OPTION FOR $15 MILLION (dead silence) Capps: ....... Grabow: ....... JH: ........ Grabow (to Capps): I told you this guy was awesome.

I would love to see it happen followed by the Eagles jumping them for the Bye Week spot. I said this earlier in the year, the Vikings are just not as good as their record. In addition to their 3 losses, they should have lost 2 more (vs. SF, @ Balt). They were a miraculous once in a lifetime throw and catch, and a missed 40 yard FG from being 9-5 instead of 11-3. While that's still a decent team (although they've had a pretty easy schedule with STL, CLE, DET (x2), SEA on their schedule), it's probably not a SB contender. I Think FO's DVOA said their offense is 9th in the league but their defense is 16th overall (and 25th against the pass). They are a above average team but I don't think they are one of the elite teams out there, especially if Favre keeps his usual December collapse going.

Come on, the Vikings offense has been struggling lately. Vikings 582 Bears -7

Thank God, I am going to be on vacation during this game. When I booked the vacation, I was worried about getting to a TV to watch the game. Don't have to worry about that anymore!

I'd say that sounds a bit fishy too trying to reacquiring vazquez like that. Maybe it's part of a 3 way trade with the Cubs for Z haha. Would never happen but would make more sense.

I posted this on RealGM, but I thought I'd share here, because I am sick to my stomach watching VDN coach this team into the ground with little consequence. The thing that the decision makers in the Bulls front office should be asking themselves regarding VDN is: After 115 games as the Bulls coach, do you believe that VDN is or has the potential to be an above average NBA head coach, capable of out coaching other NBA head coaches, capable of getting his players to perform at or most likely above their collective talent levels, capable of motivating his players and getting them to buy into the system and play as a team at a possible sacrifice for their own individual statistics and agendas? Do you John Paxson or Gar Forman see any of that in Vinny? If not, can you see him EVER coming close to that coach? If you gave him a team of All Stars, do you feel confident that he would find the best way to utilize these players and be a steadying hand to guide them to their potential. If you gave him a team of promising rookies, do you feel confident that he could find ways to get each of these players their own roles that will allow them to contribute to the greater good of the team while also developing them to reach their furthest potential? It's quite simple, you can keep waiting for a strong reason to fire Vinny, coming close and then backing off because of a 2 game winning streak, or you can realize that you have seen nothing in this coach that tells you he will ever have the skills necessary to be a competent NBA head coach. VDN is a joke around the NBA, the media covering the NBA and the fans watching the NBA. Apparently the only one that doesn't get the joke is the Bulls organization.

Random Stats of the day: People have obviously picked up on the fact that Huet has played much better since the start of the season. But people are saying that while his GAA for the season is good, his save percentage is very mediocre, and credit his low GAA to the Hawks stellar defensemen limiting the number of shots attempted. Now I agree the defensemen are stellar, and they have affected Huet's GAA, the belief that his Save % is still bad is wrong. Look at the breakdown of how Huet has played this year: First 6 games: 17 Goals allowed 92 Saves 109 Shot attempts 2.83 GAA .844 Save % Last 20 games: 34 Goals allowed 464 Saves 498 Shot attempts 1.70 GAA .932 Save % If those were his numbers for the whole year (and this stretch is 20 games out of the 26 he's played so it's damn close to his whole season after an awful start), he'd be 3rd in the league in Save % and easily 1st in the league in GAA. Just amazing to see how well he's actually played.

This is tied for the largest comeback in NBA History according to ESPN1000

This is awesome. A 35 point lead becomes a tie game The Bulls scored 12 points in a 17 minute stretch of game, from 7 minutes left in the 3rd to 2 minutes left in the 4th.

It's hard not to ignore him though. This board loves to pile on stupid arguments.