UMFan83

If we don't get Bradley, this offseason is starting to veer into the Bad category IMO.

Hmm.... Zambrano Sheets Harden Dempster Lilly I guess I could live with that. As long as 1 of Harden or Sheets is healthy in October.

Tonight is a fun night for Chicago sports Bulls @ Bobcats from 6:00-8:30 Blackhawks @ Oilers from 8:30-11:00

Why does no one count Michigan as a team that should be higher? I know they still have a lot to prove, but they probably have one of the top 3 resumes of any team in the Big 10 so far with wins over UCLA (on neutral court) and Duke (at home). Their 2 losses were to Duke (neutral court) and Maryland (road). Illinois lost to the only ranked team they've played this season (#25 Clemson) and their best win was probably over who...6-3 Vandy? But they get more respect because they've played and beaten 3 more cupcakes than Michigan?

I wasn't following this too closely, were the Braves even rumored to be in the talks? Or were they the mystery team?

If anyone got any extra tickets and is willing to sell one or two, I'd love to buy them. Once in a lifetime opportunity.

You guys are still arguing about this?

I thought no one. It's just nice validation for up and coming programs. It probably doesn't matter to you because UCLA is always ranked and is always a lock for the Tourney lately. But for a team like Northwestern, who hasn't been ranked since 1969, I would think it would be a neat level of accomplishment for them and a sign that people are noticing. Smaller things are cool about it as well. When they are showing score on ESPN during the week, your team shows up because they are ranked. A lot of the online sites for following games only have "Game Tracker" for games with a ranked team involved. Stupid stuff like that. I realize I took it on another tangent, but there is some value to the CBB rankings.

Sorry about Syracuse, but that Cleveland State buzzer beater was awesome.

i don't really understand why the predictor is all about northwestern, since they've beaten a bunch of cream puffs and florida state, plus they played butler close (but b/c they play such a slow style, they're gonna play a lot of teams close, good and bad). amusingly, it has northwestern winning the next 20 games in a row (or at least more likely than not to win each game). But they didn't play those bad teams close. A double digit win at NU's pace is essentially a blow out. Losing that close one to Butler on the road is huge. I(and probably everybody else anywhere, including Pomeroy himself) am not as high on Northwestern as the predictor, but I like them for an NIT berth this year. Have some optimism, they look impressive. I know you don't want to get your hopes up, but I think the Tourney is at least a decent shot (35%?)

I'd rather get knocked out before the game starts than get knocked out by the Packers.

Wouldn't that be funny if this is the player the Cubs chose to be their starting lefthanded RF? OK no it wouldn't

i'd take the winning % scenario...bears would have a really good chance to at least make it to the divisional round in that case I created a scenario where the 6 seeded Vikings go to Soldier Field to face the Division champion Bears in the first round.

Well, we're all about the same age. I know, I'm about the same age too. Just can't believe people remember the horrible 1995 finish and were too young to remember the fun 1994 finish. I enjoyed Raymont Harris. I still despise the Redskins of the mid to late 80s. D. Williams, Gary Clark, Monk, Didier, D. Green returning the kick for the TD. Edit:Bukie beat me to it. It's funny because, although I was born in Chicago, I grew up for 6 years in Baltimore MD during my formative years, and I fell in love with the Redskins, especially the 1991 team that won the Super Bowl. Finally I came to my senses and realized that the Redskins suck and I was a Bears fan when I moved back to Chicago.

Well, we're all about the same age. I know, I'm about the same age too. Just can't believe people remember the horrible 1995 finish and were too young to remember the fun 1994 finish.

I can't believe 1995 was the first year for some many people. I vividly remember the Bears beating the Vikings in the Metrodome in the 1994 Playoffs and then remember me being naive and thinking we had a shot to beat the 49ers in SF the next week. Well we took a 3-0 lead and I was so excited. Unfortunately, I think the 49ers scored the next 44 points....

If he takes a 1 year deal to prove he's healthy, he has a bad agent. He's not going to stay healthy an entire year.

A true Bears/Packers/Vikings fan would not root for the other to win under any circumstances, unless it benefited the greater short term good of your team (meaning playoffs, NOT draft picks).

1995 they lost out on the last week of the season because of a tiebreaker. We finished 9-7 with a victory.

Any idea when these tickets go on sale, or are they already sold out? None of the links says when.

I was just incorrect though. If Philly beats Cleveland tonight on MNF, then we can be eliminated this week if Tampa Bay, Dallas and Philly all win because Dallas and Philly play in Week 17, meaning that Dallas needs to lose so we can have a shot at the Strength of Victory tiebreaker. But Dallas losing would mean Philly wins, and they would then have a 10-5-1 record, clinching a spot over the Bears. That stupid tie sucks, it ruins the ONLY H2H tiebreaker we have over any contending teams. If Philly wins tonight: 5. Dallas 9-5 6. Atlanta 9-5* 7. Tampa Bay 9-5* 8. Philly 8-5-1 9. Chicago 8-6 *-has H2H victory over us If Philly, Dallas and Tampa Bay all win this week: 5. Dallas 10-5 6. Tampa Bay 10-5* 7. Philly 9-5-1 8. Atlanta 9-6* 9. Chicago 8-6^ *-has H2H victory over us ^-Still has MNF to play So this leaves Week 17 matchups - Dallas/Philly, Tampa Bay/Oakland, Atlanta/St. Louis, Chicago/Houston If Dallas wins, then Philly clinches a better record than us (along with TB who clinched in Week 16) If Philly wins, then Dallas clinches a better record than us ( " " " ") So we're eliminated the previous week.

I said this yesterday as fact but now I'm not so sure. Could we really be eliminated before we step on the field? I am not sure... If Atlanta and Tampa Bay both win, we'll be eliminated from the Wild Card. If Minnesota wins we'll be eliminated from the Division. But Minnesota and Atlanta play each other, meaning one of those teams has to lose. The wild card (pun not intended) here is Dallas. I am not sure, have they clinched a tiebreaker over us? If they have then a TB, Dallas and Minnesota combo of wins would eliminate us. But that's about the only thing that would. Tie breakers if Dallas and Chicago only tied for the WC: 1. H2H (no games played) 2. Conference record (Dallas 7-4, Chicago 6-5). Dallas plays Baltimore this weekend so a win here wouldn't eliminate the Bears on this tiebreaker. 3. Common games (Dallas 3-1, Chicago 2-2). Dallas still plays Philly in Week 17, and they would need to lose this in order to make this tiebreaker applicable (see conference record). So if Chicago wins the last 2 and Dallas loses to Philly we're still rolling here. 4. Strength of victory. (right now Dallas +44, Chicago +29). So it looks bleak here but remember to even get to this point, Dallas has to lose once more and Chicago has to win 2 games. So Dallas cannot clinch a H2H tiebreaker over Chicago before the Bears play on MNF. So if Atl and TB both win, the Bears still alive in the Division. If MIN and TB and Dallas win, the Bears are still alive (barely) in the Wild Card. Edit: I just remembered, crap. Cleveland has to beat Philly tonight to make this scenario valid. So if Philly wins tonight, we can get eliminated in Week 16 before we play MNF If we beat GB this week, our Week 17 playoff scenario might be something like -Chicago clinches a playoff spot with a win over Houston and a Atlanta loss to St. Louis AND a Dallas loss to Philadelphia AND Chicago clinches the Strength of Victory tiebreaker over Dallas.

Hah, it has them going 22-7. That would be awesome. NW has been awesome and I've watched 2 of their games this year. I'm by no means a Northwestern fan, but I'll be cheering for them to make their first tourney.

Josh Hamilton? (I kid) Raffey Palmeiro?

So they shouldn't even try? I haven't heard them linked to any sort of pitching. I'm not talking CC or Sheets or something. Why not get involved with Lowe or someone like that. I'm pretty sure the heart of their system is hitters too.