Butterscup1679666578

Come on man, this is a family site. Fukudome I understand, it was a joke.

Always hard to predict that. If they find out Fukudome is coming over here, they'll focus on that. So much hinges on that. That's the thing, by trading JJ so early we've really put all our eggs into Fukudome's basket. If we don't land Fukudome, has Jim thrown around any other names in your presence as a backup plan? No, this organization is pretty tight-lipped about whom it's going after. They've not volunteered anything. Hard to say if anything around baseball is "near completion" because the talks are so fluid. Interesting, thanks for the info Bruce.

Always hard to predict that. If they find out Fukudome is coming over here, they'll focus on that. So much hinges on that. That's the thing, by trading JJ so early we've really put all our eggs into Fukudome's basket. If we don't land Fukudome, has Jim thrown around any other names in your presence as a backup plan?

Come on man, this is a family site.

Nothing imminent. Yes, I am in Nashville. The Cubs never were considering Dempster to Toronto. That was a media creation. They say they've not talked to the Reds about Hamilton. They're not trading Rich Hill or Felix Pie. Any new info on Fukudome, or just the same old stuff?

And that's exactly what it is. A rumor. He provides no source, no evidence. Mizzou (I believe) returned tickets from its last 2 bowl games. They also had a terrible attendance showing at the Big XII championship game. KU sold both theirs out and asked for more. Past travel history has a lot to do with it. In the interest of full disclosure, that writer is a Mizzou grad, too. To be fair, the past two Bowl Games we were stuck in two Buttholes of America, El Paso and Shreveport. It's hard for a lot of fans to make trips down there, especially around the Holidays. Same with with the Big 12 Championship in San Antonio. That's a ~14 hour drive from Columbia. Tough to make in one weekend. We'll have a good showing in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl.

Can he still play OF or handle right at Wrigley? Last year he played 45 games at 1st, 43 in LF, 17 in RF and 4 at DH. He obviously couldn't start there, but I think he'd be a solid platoon/bench guy, and some nice insurance if, god forbid, Lee got hurt or something. Unfortunately, I'm sure Dempster won't get it done, but his .917 OPS last year in 405 PA's would look nice.

Dempster for Stairs

Right and I agree. Luckily no one from Illinois will ever get hurt so a 6 win season would never happen. Little known fact, 3, 4, and 5 star players NEVER bust.

Trade Marshall for Hamilton Platoon Hamilton/Murton in RF. Hamilton was .319/.391/.637/1.028, 18 HR 43 RBI in 256 PA's vs. righties last year. Murton was .319/.386/.505/.892, 3 HR 9 RBI in 101 PA's vs. lefties. Sign Fukudome for CF Trade Pie for SP or SS help Boom.

Id jump all over that deal.

Bart Scott is hilarious. I'd like to thank him, because I never thought I'd see a kickoff from the other team's 30 in my lifetime.

well, it wasn't supposed to be a rant, really. KU was clearly the beneficiary of a soft schedule. But I'm just tired of people pretending Mangino was going all Dr. Evil and diabolically scheduling himself into a BCS bowl. Big Man was just trying to get a bowl and keep his job. Everything else just fell into place. I'd be pissed if I were Mizzou fan, too. But as someone else pointed out elsewhere (maybe you), you guys have a very good class coming in and look to be in the driver's seat in the north for next year, at least. Like I said in the IMB thread, I've mostly come to terms with it. I'm not happy, I don't think it's right, but whatever. Hopefully our team doesn't lose focus and comes out and beats Arkansas, because a Cotton Bowl win would be huge for our program. I also hope Kansas loses 126-0.

I expected that rant to end a lot better than only a "god hates your school" proclamation.

I would love to have a Hamilton/Murton platoon next year, but not for Hill. I'd give up Marshall or Marmol no problem though.

I dunno if this has been mentioned yet, but my friend sent it to me earlier: "The Dallas Morning News reports that the Cardinals and Rangers may be discussing a swap of Scott Rolen and Chris Duncan for Hank Blalock."

we know, we know, florida did.

can i do the same to you when they lose by 4 TDs?

Maybe at the time of the games and shortly thereafter, but in hindsight, last season was the year Pinkel started to grow as a coach. I'm not going to search back because I don't care that much and it doesn't change my opinion.

Great points. And one of the many things that pisses me off are the thousands of Mizzou fans who are ticked off yet many are the same people wanting Pinkel gone last year and the year before. Wonder why these people have been so quiet this year, huh? Good luck in Dallas. I think the "Fire Pinkel" callings were moreso after 05 than last year. The thing with Pinkel is he as grown so much as a coach since 2005. He implemented a new offensive style to use for when Daniel became the starter, he has become very good at making in-game adjustments, as opposed to 2004 and 2005 when we didn't seem to change a thing during the game, and he's become impressively more sociable, which I think is a big thing. He used to be a stone-faced, no emotion, type guy, but as he's gone through the past few years he's definitely loosened up, and I think that has helped him become a better coach. Does winning help the perception of the coach? Definitely, but you have to give the coach the opportunity to win. Is Pinkel perfect? Absolutely not. However, I think the fact that the Athletic Department stuck with him through the rough times and let him grow as a coach while bringing in more of his own recruits was the perfect way to handle the situation. Oftentimes it is very easy to call for a coach's head after two or three bad years, but for some guys it takes longer than that to settle in and become a better coach while building a program.

Whatever, I've come to terms with it. I'm not happy with it, but what can you do. Everyone across the country knows we got screwed, but it's done with. Our program has gotten better each year over the past four years, and we're definitely moving in the right direction. We get a New Year's Day bowl game in one of our Recruiting Pipeline states, we've got a top 25 recruiting class coming in next year, and we'll more than likely return a Heisman candidate. The North is ours for the taking again next year, and maybe the experience this year will help us win the Big 12 Championship and go to a BCS Bowl. Being pissy won't change anything, and this team deserves the support from our fans after being one of the top teams in the country all year long. We sold out our 16,000 alloted tickets (at $90 a pop) in under 2 hours today, and the Cotton Bowl itself is either already sold out or very close to it. If we have a good showing fan-wise in the Cotton Bowl and come out with a win, we're only going to look even more appealing to bowl game sites next year. I look forward to capping off this season with a big bowl victory and finishing in the Top 5.

KANSAS TO THE FREAKING ORANGE BOWL? IM GOING TO PUKE BLOOD.

Not directly, but it doesn't help when we won two more games than you did, and beat you at a neutral site, and won our division, and you're getting rewarded for it.

Doesn't help that the Big 12 commish, when asked about our situation last night, basically plugged KU to get into a BCS game (this is what I've been reading, anyways).

You got Paypal?