UMFan83

Versteeg, Barker, Niemi. Done. Upgrade to Sharp if they insist. If we did that trade, would we need to do anything in the offseason to get under the cap? If so I'd be interested in that trade.

I think that there is a decent chance this team could be a playoff contender, but also an equally decent chance the team blows and finishes in 3rd or 4th place. It seems like every year people are pessimistic they do good, while every year people are optimistic, they do bad. Meanwhile the year everyone had true mixed feelings about the team (2008) they won 97 games.

I don't know why this is so funny but it is humorous to see a statue of Selig is going up: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4897641

Yes. Players in the minors don't count against the cap. However, the player has to be a two-way player in order to be sent to the minors. Can a player reject a trip to minor leagues? Why haven't we suggested doing this in the past with him or Campbell? It sounds sketchy if the Hawks trade for Thomas and then drop Huet to Rockford. I feel like the league office would frown on that behavior.

I know Tim Thomas hasn't been nearly as good as last year but I feel like his upside is much higher than Huet's. I'd love to get him. What do they mean about sending Huet to the minors to get rid of his contract? Does that mean it no longer becomes part of the Hawks salary cap situation?

Karma did all the work. The Saints didn't really do much. I didn't say they played good because of their talent and planning. Where was that karma in 2006 when it would have made an even better story for them to win the Super Bowl?

Yeah 96 teams isn't anywhere near letting all D1 teams in the tournament. There are like 300+ D1 teams last I checked. Yeah and there are only like 100 in major conferences. I mean no one is dying for Maine or Savannah State to make the tournament.

When did Ron Turner get the Saints Offensive Coordinator position?

Most Saints fans were even around long enough to experience John Karney missing the XP after a miracle TD in 2003? That's sad. No offense to fans but I laughed so hard when I saw that. And then felt bad. But mostly laughed.

The problem is Niemi is a RFA after this year and Huet has a large long term contract.

I do prefer when the Bulls and Hawks win within minutes of each other than lose minutes of each other like last night.

Yeah phew. 2-0 lead but the Blues were on a 5 on 3 PP with 2 minutes left and scored. Had to sweat out the last 90 seconds or so.

The play where Kirk held the ball the entire possession, drove into the paint and put up an awkward turnaround fadeaway that missed badly was such an infuriating play, that I couldn't even get mad. I just chuckled to myself. Kirk is such a maddening player. They say he's a point guard, but the more he dribbles, the worse the possession gets. He'll either put up a garbage shot or he'll turn the ball over. And Kirk over dribbles A LOT. I know he's respected for his defense, but the day Kirk Hinrich leaves this team will be a happy day for me. You really want the backup PG to be Pargo? Kirk has his flaws but he's a solid player. woah Pargo is my least favorite basketball player who ever lived. I never said Kirk was worthless. He has pretty good value. What I meant was the day Kirk leaves is a happy day but I obviously meant in movie to improve the position, now buying out Hinrichs contract or anything.

The play where Kirk held the ball the entire possession, drove into the paint and put up an awkward turnaround fadeaway that missed badly was such an infuriating play, that I couldn't even get mad. I just chuckled to myself. Kirk is such a maddening player. They say he's a point guard, but the more he dribbles, the worse the possession gets. He'll either put up a garbage shot or he'll turn the ball over. And Kirk over dribbles A LOT. I know he's respected for his defense, but the day Kirk Hinrich leaves this team will be a happy day for me.

Did anyone notice Hinrich taking the ball up the floor in the 4th quarter with Rose on the floor? Either they were sticking Rose at SG to enhance his scoring opportunities or they were keeping Hinrich at PG to showcase him for a trade.

Damn, the Hawks are pretty much guaranteed a top 3 seed because Nashville and Detroit are doing jack to catch up to the Hawks, but other teams are closing game gap in terms of best records in the west. Phoenix is now only 4 points behind the Hawks, LA 6 points. I remember just recently the Hawks had double digit leads on almost if not all teams in the West besides San Jose. C'mon Hawks, snap out of it. It's like one day they looked at their jerseys and realized they were representing Chicago and collapsed.

except the bulls collapsing again actually helps that organization how so? I am pretty sure GarPax got the point that this team isn't good enough to stand pat.

Not right now but were in a horrid slump. We certainly have the talent to be a top 3 team. Damn I was almost happy when Bulls won 5 in a row and Hawks started trip 5-2. Since then a combined 0-6. The story of Chicago sports

I am out of town but decided to turn on espn when they started the 4th quarter up 6. Of course they get outscored 27-11 in the quarter I watch. This is 4 fourth quarters in a row when the bulls come out completely flat. That speaks to coaching to me. Rose rests to start the 4th and when they get him back in it's too late because the wheels have already fallen off and the team collapses. I've never seen a team go through epic collapse after epic collapse like this team does. In 75% of their games they go through a 6-10 minute period where they take horrible off the mark shots, careless turnovers, and strangest of all tons of missed FTs to go along with it. This leads to some hilariously anemic scoring outputs.

The NFL Network Super Bowl telecasts are in their entirety. I'm recording it tonight so I can suffer through it again tomorrow night. Yeah I don't know why I put myself through that. It's probably because I watched the game at a bar and never going to hear commentary and get the full "Bears in the Super Bowl" experience that I get when I watch other SB's at home or at a friends house. It was cool to watch and realize that the Bears were actually in this huge event that half the world watches and is a huge spectacle. In any event, the first quarter was fun to watch...the rest not so much. I've noticed the Colts do that in alot of their games. If you look at it, that Super Bowl was much like many others for the Colts. The opposing team comes out looking good, then they look at what that team is doing, make some adjustments, and eventually just take over. Sunday might very well end up being the same thing. Yeah that makes sense and now that you mention it, I've seen that too from them. Although the only bad things the Colts really did in the game was allow a kickoff return TD to one of the best KR ever at his peak, throw an interception, and allow a long run from Thomas Jones. Other than that, they really clamped down. Granted, the Bears did enough to stay in the game until the end by using their own 'bend but don't break' style, but it was clearly the Colts night. One thing that bugs me is that the Bears gave up on the run too easily. IIRC, the Colts had an embarrassingly bad run D during the regular season, and although they had improved in the playoffs, it was still a weakness. Thomas Jones had 15 carries for 112 yards in the game (7.5 YPC). The Bears were down just one score until midway through the 4th quarter, and that was on a Grossman pick 6. They had ample opportunity to run, and should have especially considering the conditions. 17 rushes to 28 for the game. Oh well.

I think we should vote Mark Prior into the HOF too. His rate stats are good enough.

They might as well sign him as long as they have the spare money. The certainly didn't get any return on their investment (players traded to Bal). And a one year deal is great. Seattle certainly looks good this year, but in the back of my mind I can't help getting that "everyone picking them to win and flopping" feeling. It's probably because Milton Badley is on their team.

The NFL Network Super Bowl telecasts are in their entirety. I'm recording it tonight so I can suffer through it again tomorrow night. Yeah I don't know why I put myself through that. It's probably because I watched the game at a bar and never going to hear commentary and get the full "Bears in the Super Bowl" experience that I get when I watch other SB's at home or at a friends house. It was cool to watch and realize that the Bears were actually in this huge event that half the world watches and is a huge spectacle. In any event, the first quarter was fun to watch...the rest not so much.

Hawks: +50 Devils: +21 Pens: +19 Devils are pre-Kovalchuk and the Pens are starting to become notorious for coming on strong at the end of the season and certainly have the credentials to say they are elite. Not saying the goal differentials aren't telling, just giving plausible excuses why those teams are at an equal level despite a huge gap in goal differential.

It was a stupid comment about how Noah was recovering from an injury 2 offseasons ago and showed up to camp out of shape despite the injury healing midway through the offseason and didn't get in shape until like mid-December. He could only play 20 minutes a night. He's a much different and more mature player now so I don't even know why I made that remark.