XZero771679666304

I'm disappointed, but it's hard to be upset. I expected to be blown out. Cole wasn't half bad. Agree on Jordan, though. Next year Cole better not see the floor. He can't take any minutes from Jereme or Brandon. Agreed. Paul needs to be tempered a bit, though. Just when he starts to get going, he does something stupid. He should be good, though.

I'm disappointed, but it's hard to be upset. I expected to be blown out. Cole wasn't half bad. Agree on Jordan, though.

Still doesn't compare to the wind knocking him over and getting Manny Harris kicked out of the game last year Did D.J. get the call? Plus Kramer's a pathological flopper.

Yep, we really need to rebound better as a team. Had we done that we win this game. Turover margin too. Johnson has been terrible shooting for Purdue today. And free throw margin. We should have brought more lube. Eh, that's how it is in this league. At this point, you have to expect it.

dammit, that's the dagger

Kramer does That's about it

dammit Davis you [expletive]

Yeah, not after something that prolific, especially when one party is on the road so much. That goose is cooked.

Nah, I think he really took pride in never having had to get to this point. I doubt he's thrilled about it.

Because his commercial value is worth more than many small countries. No doubt this announcement is part of campaign to attempt damage control advised by Tiger's people, trying to recoup some of his lost value. The problem is (I think) that it is just damaging it more. If he and Elin were to just divorce, it would probably go away faster. Any perception of Tiger as a morally upright role model type of figure is gone, and it isn't coming back. Fortunately Tiger is a phenomenal golfer, and the sooner people can begin to focus on that again, the better for all interested parties. For him to continue be a media presence for any other reason is destructive for anyone with any vested financial interest.

No surprise there.

That, and they don't know when they will be able to start making money off him as a golfer again. Well, they're not helping their own cause by pursuing this, if that's their end. Sex fiends rarely stop being sex fiends. The sooner Elin divorces him and this whole production is put to an end, the better. And I love how people say "he's not the guy he pretended to be". I don't remember the presser where he declared himself an ethical paragon. He just not the person people wanted him to be. People never really are.

He does. Frequently, and to many women. He did a bad thing. He did it prolifically. Having said that, I really just don't care, and I think the amount of attention being given this thing is just ridiculous. At least I don't care any more about Tiger doing it than the guy down the street, or the hundreds of other pro athletes who no doubt do it. It's wrong, but it's not as if he committed a heinous crime that he has to answer to society for. Tiger is going to bear the burden his infidelity has created for the rest of his life, every time he has to look his kids in the eye or when no one takes him at his word. All this ridiculous media driven spectacle is doing is making it worse for his family, Elin and her family, and their children. This is rubbing salt in their wounds, and making them look like suckers on top of it. All this thing amounts to is another case of the public taking perverse pleasure at a celebrity twisting in the wind, have nots reveling in the trials of the haves. It's petty. I'm not totally above this sort of thing (taking a measure of enjoyment in the misfortune of the more fortunate, not cheating), but if there was ever something that should be allowed resolution beyond the public eye, this is [expletive] it. I have no love for Tiger Woods as a person. Hell, I always thought he was probably a really self centered dick. But this is just too much. He doesn't you or I a damned thing. All crap like this statement does is waste time and embarrass his family and friends. If anyone is really indignant over infidelity, it would be a lot more constructive to spend time admonishing those we know who do it than getting off watching Tiger hung out to dry. Men like Tiger Woods have a lot to make up for, but if we're going to demand public apologies from selfish, high profile men who denigrate women through their actions, there should be a 24/7 channel created just for it. But ultimately that time would be better spent making more substantial reparations to those they actually hurt, behind closed doors, than pandering to the public. The whole thing is really shameful social commentary. And as for the women on the wrong side of this crap, asserting their independence and just kicking these douchebags to the curb instead of hanging on would do a lot more to further their cause than all the public apologies in the world ever would, but that's another rant. Yeah, I was just making a joke. I didn't meant to direct that at you, I was just ranting in general.

He does. Frequently, and to many women. He did a bad thing. He did it prolifically. Having said that, I really just don't care, and I think the amount of attention being given this thing is just ridiculous. At least I don't care any more about Tiger doing it than the guy down the street, or the hundreds of other pro athletes who no doubt do it. It's wrong, but it's not as if he committed a heinous crime that he has to answer to society for. Tiger is going to bear the burden his infidelity has created for the rest of his life, every time he has to look his kids in the eye or when no one takes him at his word. All this ridiculous media driven spectacle is doing is making it worse for his family, Elin and her family, and their children. This is rubbing salt in their wounds, and making them look like suckers on top of it. All this thing amounts to is another case of the public taking perverse pleasure at a celebrity twisting in the wind, have nots reveling in the trials of the haves. It's petty. I'm not totally above this sort of thing (taking a measure of enjoyment in the misfortune of the more fortunate, not cheating), but if there was ever something that should be allowed resolution beyond the public eye, this is [expletive] it. I have no love for Tiger Woods as a person. Hell, I always thought he was probably a really self centered dick. But this is just too much. He doesn't you or I a damned thing. All crap like this statement does is waste time and embarrass his family and friends. If anyone is really indignant over infidelity, it would be a lot more constructive to spend time admonishing those we know who do it than getting off watching Tiger hung out to dry. Men like Tiger Woods have a lot to make up for, but if we're going to demand public apologies from selfish, high profile men who denigrate women through their actions, there should be a 24/7 channel created just for it. But ultimately that time would be better spent making more substantial reparations to those they actually hurt, behind closed doors, than pandering to the public. The whole thing is really shameful social commentary. And as for the women on the wrong side of this crap, asserting their independence and just kicking these douchebags to the curb instead of hanging on would do a lot more to further their cause than all the public apologies in the world ever would, but that's another rant.

I did too. Well, like 99%, anyway. Of course, I can be a bit neurotic when it comes to these things. I watched game seven from start to finish, but I definitely had a sinking feeling the only briefly abated when Wood homered. Not watching game 7 is a bit ridiculous, but I can't imagine most fans didn't have a bad feeling after game 6. I don't think fans of other teams would have felt much differently, either, had they been in our shoes. The whole thing just stank.

I know what you mean about just knowing something is done before it's over. Besides that, I just knew it was over when Loney hit the grand slam in game 1 in 08. I know I'm a pessimist and in the heat of the action I jump the gun on things, but this just felt different. If I had any doubt I knew it was over, the Cubs kicking the ball all over the IF the next night finished me off. I think I took the 2008 playoffs harder than 2003. I was in a funk for over a month after that series. The 2003 series jaded me a bit, and 2008 didn't hurt as much. The expectations were higher (most of the 2003 run felt like a bonus), but nothing hurts quite like having something in hand and losing it. And when Derrek hit that double in game 6, it was the moment I knew it was over. Your brain told you there was another game, but you knew.

The first contact I allowed myself to have with anything sports related after the series was the day I joined NSBB. I was barely there for game 7, because I knew what was coming. I didn't tune into any of the sports outlets until at least three weeks had passed, much less watch any of the WS. As for Kerry's 20K game, my best friend and I were on the golf course stuck in the rain for all but the end of it. Got back just in time to see the final two outs. I still haven't seen the thing in it's entirety.

I haven't watched the 8th inning of game 6 since the 8th inning of game 6. Don't plan on it, either. Once is enough.

I think the whole notion of prestige for a program is a fickle thing. It's a what have you done lately world, and CBB is no exception. Take Duke for example. Most people consider Duke to be a powerhouse, but what were they before Coach K came? And more importantly, does anyone care? Teams like UNC and Kentucky have built their rep on sustained success, but their recent success has more bearing on their future than their past successes. When you talk about B10 hoops with most people, teams like MSU are always the first to come to mind. Are they the best team historically? No. But they've been the best B10 for a couple decades, and that's what people remember. Hell, even Indiana, for all their history, is beginning to fade into the background of these discussions. When you are talking about prestige/history, all that really matters is what your college's name means to the kids you're trying to recruit. They don't care about championships won 60 years ago, they care about now, and current reputation. And for most programs, success is cyclical. For all Illinois' recent success, a couple more years of this and we're not very relevant. The unfortunate reality is that unless you are a UNC, UCLA or Kentucky caliber program, your "long term success" really doesn't mean squat. Purdue is a pretty good team, and a team on the rise. And that's good for the conference. But if you go around saying you should be considered B10 elite because you're back at the top even though you haven't sustained elite performance since before the shot clock era, you're going to catch some flack, and deservedly so.

Is anybody here talking about Michigan, Minnesota or Iowa? No, because they aren't very good and aren't located in the Chicagoland area. If a cabal of fans means about four then OK. But It's not like we're crawling out of the woodwork here. The Purdue hate from Illini fans, or fans of pretenders like ND or BSU is very similar to White Sox fans hate for the Cubs. Did my team win today? Nope. Oh well, Purdue still sucks. Classy. lol, wut? Oh, come on. CubbieBum says some off the wall crap, and because of that a lot of people around here hate Purdue. Purdue's program grew stagnant at the end of Keady's career but Painter has really energized the program. They've been in the top echelon of Big Ten teams recently and have the recruiting ball rolling (bringing in 4 star recruits). If you can't admit that, it's just blind hatred. No one's denying that. But it really has only been the last 2/3 seasons, and I think it's awfully premature to be putting your program ahead of MSU, OSU and even Wisconsin and Illinois as far as overall status goes. If things stay this way for 3-4 more seasons, maybe. And I will concede that we're probably not having this discussion if not for the bum, but what he says sometimes takes ridiculous to a new level.

Is anybody here talking about Michigan, Minnesota or Iowa? No, because they aren't very good and aren't located in the Chicagoland area. If a cabal of fans means about four then OK. But It's not like we're crawling out of the woodwork here. The Purdue hate from Illini fans, or fans of pretenders like ND or BSU is very similar to White Sox fans hate for the Cubs. Did my team win today? Nope. Oh well, Purdue still sucks. Classy. What? I don't care about Purdue. Trust me, the Boilers are way, way down the list of teams that I feel anything about. And I have only seen one person here actively hate on Purdue. One. And there are dozens of us here. Equating Illini fans' feelings towards Purdue to Sox fans feelings about the Cubs is just laughable. I think I can speak for most us in saying that if we were going to take that attitude, Iowa, Wisconsin, MSU, Indiana and UM would all come before Purdue for our negative feelings. Personally, I always root for the B10, and have never felt conflicted rooting for Purdue when it didn't directly conflict with the Illini's interests. There's only one team that has even been in danger of making me feel that way, and it sure isn't you guys. You don't know much about Illini fans if you think we live and die on what Purdue does. Nice swing and a miss on that one. I just find it amusing that Purdue fans only started actively participating in college basketball discussions within the past year or so, and in the case of some, acting like pompous asses and making ridiculous assertions about Purdue's place in the b10. I'm not hating on Purdue, I'm just a little put off by the "we're a top 10 team for the first time in ages, and we're going to act like we've been here all along" attitude I've seen. Some of you have been here for years, and I wouldn't have known you were Purdue fans a couple of years ago. I guess I just figured that since we're all Cubs fans here, we wouldn't have too many people whose level of interest is dictated by their team's fortunes.

I think the stats show that we're not giving up a lot of open looks from behind the arc. It's either that or we're playing against a bunch of awful shooters. Tis may be soft and a doofus, but he still alters shots in the lane. Certainly not to the extent that teams are terrified of shooting from inside 21 feet, but it's something. I guess it could be a defensive plan to play off the weaker shooters and challenge them to shoot, but it's not like this has been a stape of Weber-coached Illinois teams. The previous high was 35.3% of attempts. Checking our nonconference schedule, it's not that we played a bunch of teams that shoot a lot of 3s (Only a couple of them even in the top 100) So what I'm saying is I have no clue. I see the low percentage, but why would teams toss up 40% from beyond the arc against us if they weren't getting open looks? We're not soft down low, but not exactly filling the lane with athletic, shot blocking defenders, either. It could be that many of the teams we have played just haven't shot that well, and when we do play a team that shoots well, the Illini just get taken to the woodshed (today's game, for example). What I do know is that when I have watched the Illini play this year, I have been underwhelmed by the perimeter defense, most of the time. Of course it could also be a consistency of effort thing. It's kind of confounding.

Could it be that he's being defensed differently? Maybe teams have decided to try and take away his jumper instead of defending him as a post player. I don't know.

Illinois is 23rd in the country (1st in the Big Ten) at opponent's 3 point % 40% of their opponent's field goal attempts are 3s (14th highest in the country.) Why do you suppose that would be? It sure isn't because of our defensive post presence forcing opponents outside. I haven't been able to watch as much as I'd like, but when I do there seems to be at least one point in most possessions where an opposing guard is alone on the perimeter. I just don't see the Illini contesting enough outside shots to deter opponents from shooting so much. It's anecdotal, sure, but I have been watching Illini basketball for a long time, and I don't remember too many seasons where opposing teams were given so many open looks. It just seems like every game it's the "godless chuckers" thing. At what point does it become more about us than them?

We'll have to wait and see for that. First we'll have to enjoy the Illini's NIT appearance. Right. We find two more wins and we are in. That's far from a given. At this point, an end to this disjointed mess of a season might just be a relief. I'm pretty confident going into next year and beyond. Having said that, I find it amusing that as recently as two or three years ago, no one here was talking about Purdue, yet now there is a cabal of outspoken fans, acting pretentious. Will they go back to being invisible when Purdue goes back to the middle of the pack? Only time will tell. And for sulley: all this "godless chucking" that you moan about seemingly every game is a function of the Illlini playing piss poor perimeter defense. A team who doesn't typically shoot a lot of threes (like OSU) will when they know they can exploit a weakness by doing so. Most players at this level can drain threes when they are allowed to.