brinoch

Let's ignore where Roberts would bat in the order for a moment, and compare the difference in offensive production (and Defensive prowess if you'd like) between Roberts and DeRosa. What would that mean for the team? Frankly I'm tired of reading about Roberts vs. Soriano in the lead-off spot. Gah! Who cares! Soriano will still be in the lineup with Roberts -- it's DeRosa who would be on the bench.

So long as Ward does a tumble when he slides, I'm all in favor of said action. In all seriousness, I would try and steal on Kendall with the right personnel, i.e. anyone not named Soto and Ramirez (and Ward, too). I would pretty much never try and steal on Molina. I say try because, well, you're likely to get thrown out.

DJ can celebrate all he wants. He has been through a lot in his career at IU...the Mike Davis era, multiple injuries, the Sampson fiasco...he finally has a chance to play for a Big Ten title. ...the petulant ducking out on practice yesterday. Yeah... okay. I'd love to see your reaction in the same situation.

The Cubs shouldn't trade Murton unless they get good value for him, simple as that. I understand wanting to give guys a chance, but having Murton on the bench gives the Cubs a heck of a 4th OFer. That's important to the team, though perhaps not in Murton's best long-term interest. If you can get something you need for him, or if he can be a piece of a larger trade, fine. If not, then he can be happy as the best 4th OF in baseball (hopefully).

It's bad, but not as bad as Matsui's wrist last summer. Still, it's fairly similar, so if you've a weak stomach, don't watch it.

Uh... no. You're just wrong. Big Ten network showed a replay and DJ didn't get a significant piece of the shooter with either the body or the hand until AFTER the shot was let go. Given the ticky-tack calls against Stemler while covering Coble, though, a call there would have been appropriate.

He should be irate. That was a nasty tackle -- not even close to the ball.

Ummm.. yeah. Nice conspiracy theory. But no, that's not the case. I've said it before, and it is still absolutely true: IU was protecting itself against a lawsuit from Sampson. They bought him out and there is a specific clause in the buy-out that prevents litigation. IU can't afford a lawsuit. Their finances are only now getting back in order after McNeeley.

I disagree completely. I think the university slapped the players in the face with the way they handled the situation the last 24 hours. It put the players into a horrible position with the way it was dragged out and the meeting last night (which was both unnecessary and put the players into further media bombardment). I think both sides should just say mistakes were made and move on with the full squad tomorrow night. At most, make them come off of the bench. I see your point, but what excuse do they have for skipping practice when they knew this was gonna happen? It seems to me that skipping was a reaction to their guy, McCallum, not being named interim. It's an F'd up situation and everyone is screwed. WTHR is reporting that all players were at the walk-through tonight.

This is awesome. This is simply not an accurate report from everything else I've been seeing on Peegs and the Hoosier Scoop.

they'll start his arbi clock by wasting him in long relief Gotta start 'em slow in the bullpen because that's the way they did it when Dusty broke in. Also, so the book on them doesn't get filled in too quick. Can't have that.

All right. Everyone take a deep breath. Now go make fun of Kelvin Sampson for a bit.

You keep winning and the administration will keep putting it off. I don't think so. They are in CYA mode. If OSU hadn't been smacked down and forced to pay O'Brien a bunch of money, Sampson would already be gone. I don't believe that for a second. O'Brien still hasn't seen a single penny from that settlement and according to many law experts, never will. The case is in appeal right now. Was in appeal. OSU lost and has to pay O'Brien $3M. Do you believe me now?

Actually, the path to first base isn't curved, though of course the Earth is.

What happened there? Any reasons? Sampson called him...

It was a great game. If IU doesn't make bad decisions with the ball, this one isn't even close. That's not saying Purdue didn't play good defense; they did. IU really didn't take care of the ball, and that hurt them a lot. IU also played with incredible defensive pressure, and I thought (for Big Ten refs) it wasn't an exquisitely awful officiating job. One other IU-centered observation: I think you saw exactly how important Bassett is to this team when he went to the bench with about 7 minutes left. IU's offense went cold, looked like they didn't know what they were doing and, magically, Purdue's offense starting clicking on relatively easy drives into the lane. Bassett is a very good defender, and his ball-handling ability is by far the best on the team. When Bassett returned as Purdue drew within 5 points, IU shut Purdue down and ended the game. I was also impressed with Purdue tonight. I've been saying all season that they are a good team, and I think they played very well, all in all. The standings with IU, Purdue and Wisconsin all tied at the top is, I believe, appropriate. These three teams are the class of the conference, with MSU right behind and OSU following a step behind MSU. Looking ahead at the contender's schedules: IU -- @NU, OSU, @MSU, MIN, @PSU PU -- MIN, NU, @OSU, UM UW -- @ILL, @OSU, MSU, PSU, @NU MSU -- IA, @WIS, IU, @ILL, @OSU Michigan St. plays both IU and Wisconsin and has the toughest schedule; Ohio St. plays all four contenders and will be a real factor in who wins the Big Ten. Purdue probably has the easiest schedule, though playing at Ohio St. won't be a picnic. Other than @MSU, I don't think IU will be close to losing a game. I could easily see a three-way tie atop the Big Ten going into the tournament.

You keep winning and the administration will keep putting it off. I don't think so. They are in CYA mode. If OSU hadn't been smacked down and forced to pay O'Brien a bunch of money, Sampson would already be gone. I don't believe that for a second. O'Brien still hasn't seen a single penny from that settlement and according to many law experts, never will. The case is in appeal right now. Lawyers and litigation are expensive. Also, between having to buy out Bob Knight, Cam Cameron, Mike Davis and Michael McNeeley (and McNeeley's underlings), plus more than four years of Athletic Department deficits under McNeeley and then Clapacs, I really don't think IU can afford to buy out Sampson or take the expense (and chance of losing) a wrongful termination case.

I'm not going to post in this thread anymore because I'm scared. My, what value you've brought to this and the sliding thread with your last two posts.

You keep winning and the administration will keep putting it off. I don't think so. They are in CYA mode. If OSU hadn't been smacked down and forced to pay O'Brien a bunch of money, Sampson would already be gone.

I'm boycotting this thread Okay by me.

This thread is now open again. Any further sliding posts will result in a permanent locking of this thread and a warning, if not a ban, for the offender. There will be no exceptions.

All right. I asked once, nicely, to conduct the debate on sliding into first in another thread. The debate continued for several pages. This thread is now locked. Take the sliding into first debate into Baseball Discussions and into its own appropriate thread. Do you all understand this now?

If you want to discuss sliding into first, please start a new thread (or the old one) to discuss it and various insights. This is not the appropriate thread for that discussion.

During their respective primes, I would take Ronaldo over Ronaldinho. Right now, I would take Cristiano Ronaldo.

I think they'll be legit offers. With uncertainty regarding Urlacher's health and Moose's release (and Bradley's inability to stay healthy and/or get out of Lovie's dog house), it seems likely (to me) that the Bears will strongly desire to retain Berrian and Briggs.