UMFan83

I would list some examples, but I honestly forget which stories are true and which stories were unconfirmed rumors, but lets just say that JR has a unhealthy fear of exceeding the luxury tax. Which is fair, but a lot of teams have had to go over the lux tax to be successful.

Just to have the chance to go to MSG for either a Rangers or Knicks game would be good enough for me. But you're spoiled I guess. I wish the United Center was built somewhere downtown instead of a place that is essentially devoid of any sort of neighborhood feel. It doesn't have to be trendy or upscale like Wrigleyville, but it would be nice to have some sort of buildup to the game atmosphere. The West Loop is the best option but its still about 1.5 miles from the arena. The free shuttles help though.

You thought there was a letdown after week 1? I respectfully disagree. I thought the Bears played really well and looked focused in that game. I thought the defense was sloppy, maybe lackadaisical. They came out fired up, but way too confident in their ability to just turn it up whenever it mattered. They had a chance to put Carolina away, and just didn't come up with the plays. Defense a little sloppy, if I remember the game correctly, the offense moved the ball decently in the first half. I agree with you about the fact that the D thinks they can just turn it up whenever. Bend but don't break if you will. Sometimes you have to give a little credit to the other team too, and Carolina was good in the second half. Can't get over those Olsen fumbles though. He holds onto the ball we are 4-1. If the Bears don't go into prevent defense the next week, we are 5-0 and the toast of football.

I tried to say this was a bad idea and got smacked down for it. We'll see. I'm trying to give him a chance, be the good Bulls fan. It's hard. I don't like him. He'll have to prove it to me with actual wins. I like him. I've read some good quotes about him and his philosophies. Gotta give him some time to adjust to coaching. It might take this team the entire season to get them playing the way he wants it to, or it might click right away on October 28th. There aren't too many Bulls fans that will be demanding a run in the playoffs this year, although if this team is where most think it is, they should be able to grab a playoff spot.

You thought there was a letdown after week 1? I respectfully disagree. I thought the Bears played really well and looked focused in that game.

Gordon is a 6th man. If he can give us 15-20 points off the bench in like 25-30 mins, I'll be happy. He is an awful defender (not to mention undersizes), and the statistics bear it out. That said, we need him on this team, but he's no star. He's a role player. I think people are right when they say scoring isnt the only thing that matters. They are right. The Bulls need Gordon's points, just like they need Noc's versitility, just like they need Hughes'....umm...expiring contract next year. But Gordon is more or less one dimensional in that respect.

We really probably shouldn't have 82 individual Blackhawks game threads. As excited as everyone is, I don't think there will be even as much demand as individual Bulls game threads. In the past for the Bulls we've just done a season thread and everyone posts in there everytime theres a game. The thread is almost always on the front page of Social so its easy to bump. Just a suggestion. If we want to do individual game threads for the Bears/Bulls/Blackhawks, we really need an "other sports" or "Chicago sports" forum. With that said, looking forward to watching the game tonight.

You're kiding right? People are saying he's been the most impressive person in camp.

TT very well could eventually become something, but I don't feel it this year or anytime to soon...I think they could squeak in the playoffs. They are very undersized though If he's going to improve eventually, he's gotta make a step now. It's his third year. He doesn't have to peak this year, but he has to be a significant role player this year.

F Andres Nocioni C Joakim Noah 12th spot will probably goto F Cedric Simmons

Michael Ruffin is on a non-guaranteed contract too! Roger Powell among others is also at camp. Yeah, that Roger Powell.

I don't think they are going to be some dominant team, but they can easily be a playoff team. You gotta figure with a new coach whose aim is to run an up-tempo offense and use a lot of pick and rolls is going to be really good for this team. The hope here is that Rose and Tyrus become the Nash and Amare of the Eastern Conference, or at least somewhat resemble it. Might seem really far fetched but you have to remember that both players have a crapload of untapped talent. Rose I agree with Thomas on the other hand wasn't even that good in college. They just knew he could jump and that's about it He wasn't good in college, but he only played 1 year. He is/was an extremely raw player. I'm not saying he's a lock to be a superstar, but it's fair to say the jury is still out. He could be a good player or he could end up as Stromile Swift version 2. This year will go a long way in telling.

I don't think they are going to be some dominant team, but they can easily be a playoff team. You gotta figure with a new coach whose aim is to run an up-tempo offense and use a lot of pick and rolls is going to be really good for this team. The hope here is that Rose and Tyrus become the Nash and Amare of the Eastern Conference, or at least somewhat resemble it. Might seem really far fetched but you have to remember that both players have a crapload of untapped talent. If they become even 75% of that Phoenix duo, thats going to be awesome.

With the first preseason game tonight, and the offseason over, I figured this was an appropriate time to start this thread. Bulls/Mavs tonight at the UC on CSN. Neil Funk will be the PBP, Stacey King the color guy. Derrek Rose's first game in the Bulls uniform, and he's been getting rave reviews for his skills and maturity and might even land a starting spot on opening night. Also, Tyrus Thomas has put on 10-15 lbs of muscle since last season and is now around 6'9'' 233, and is said to have matured quite a bit over the offseason. Apparently, it started while watching Glen Davis win a title last year with Boston and talking to him about how everyone on the team put aside everything to sacrifice and win a title, and decided to rededicate himself. It may be preseason fluff, but I am starting to get optimistic that the Bulls will be at least decent this year.

Those poor young pitchers never had a chance.

http://brahsome.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/morrison-crying-at-the-tournament1.jpg Now can you see this is all I wanted Soriano to do. Is that too much to ask?

:-))

Really the team with probably the worst pitching in baseball wouldn't even think about trading for one of the best pitchers in baseball? You don't think Pie and Zambrano could even get a discussion about it? Nope. Zambrano has two straight seasons of an ERA of 3.9, a possibly bum shoulder and a huge new contract. He has negative trade value. Not to mention hes not a GB pitcher anymore and hasn't had a FIP under 4 in a while now. I have a feeling that the Carlos Zambrano era in Chicago is not going to end pretty.

hyperbole galore here. Where? The word many? The fact is he had some horrible caught stealing numbers and other situations where he took himself off the basepaths, far more than should be acceptable. I think he's implying that Theriot's base running gaffes do not take away enough of his OBP for it to be a relevant point. I don't agree with him, but I think that's his line of thinking.

BTW, isn't the ballpark a part of the reason why some of their pitchers suck? I don't feel like looking up the Park factors for the park, but its not exactly a pitchers haven. Kevin Milwood won the ERA title in Cleveland, went to Texas and watched his career disappear Edison Voloquez had some meh seasons with Texas, then got traded to the Reds to start out strong and slowly (aka quickly) get Dustified Chris Young is another example, but he did go to Petco Park and has bad road splits now. In fact, I'm having a hard time thinking of a pitcher that did well for the Rangers besides Kenny Rodgers. I think Z would do alright in Arlington, as long as his sinker was effective and he kept balls on the ground. But I would think his days of sub-4 ERAs would be in danger.

We should have just kept Hamilton when we had him. *ducks* (before people respond, my post was satirical in nature and I am well aware that the Cubs had no knowledge of who they were picking for the Reds when they agreed to trade their rule v pick to them)

So....in an effort to get back on the hockey bandwagon (yes, I am not ashamed to admit, I left hockey after like 13 years old, and basically ignored it), I decided to take part in a fantasy hockey league in order to get more familiar with the players that currently play the game. It's amazing how little knowledge I can have about a semi-mainstream sport like hockey. I honestly only recognized about 30 players, and about 15 of them I recognized on hearing their name in the past in the background as Sportscenter was on while I was doing other things. So with that said, I need a sage hockey expert (Cyno?) to evaluate my team because honestly, I know like 5 players on my team. C - Eric Staal C - Jeff Carter LW - Dany Heatley (knew him) LW - Brandon Morrow RW - Nikolai Zherdev RW - Milan Hejduk D - Niklas Lidstrom (knew him) D - Scott Niedermayer (knew him) D - Sheldon Souray D - Mathieu Schneider Util - Scott Hartnell BN - Martin Havlat (knew him) BN - Kristian Huselius BN - Saku Koivu G - Jean-Sebastian Giguere (knew him) G - Thomas Vokoun BN - Mathieu Garon 10 team league, with the stats being G, A, +/-, PIM, PPG, PPA, SHG, SOG So thoughts? Anything I need? Keep in mind I knew nothing about anything when I did this draft. I think I need a better second goalkeeper, but not sure what else.

Oh come on, Royals fans aren't that bad!

How do we know Dunn has the "unclutch in the playoffs gene" that is obviously infecting the rest of the clubhouse? Maybe he has an antidote or something that he's never gotten the chance to use because he's been a Red his whole life. Adam Dunn is a mysterious person, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had access to such a serum.

Did anyone realize that Moose is 15 catches, 212 yards, and 1 TD behind last season's numbers? What does that say about the Bears organization? No really, I'm asking as a legit question? I just assumed he was washed up.