soccer10k

the only reason that doesn't bother me yet is that it's sullivan saying it. bruce would be another thing. Which part are you talking about - Soriano in right or Cliff Floyd? Bruce has reported that Soriano could be playing RF. i know bruce was the first to report the right field thing... was speaking more about the floyd talk. that would be terrible. Ok, just wasn't sure what you were referring to. And yes, Floyd coming to Wrigley would be a nightmare.

USC didn't win a national championship with Palmer. They went to a BCS bowl but lost 2 games that year. I think USC from each of the past two years were better, especially the 2004 version because the defense was better. Go ahead and make the argument that 2005 USC didn't even win the title but they were beat by one of the most dominant college players ever. 2005 Texas would give OSU a very good game as well. I would definitely say 2002 Miami was better as well.

I disagree. I think if Arkansas runs the table in the SEC (or Florida wins the SEC title) they should go in over USC. Yes, Arkansas lost to USC, I know, but the SEC is a better conference that the Pac-10 and USC lost to an unranked team. I don't think the difference is near enough to make up for the fact that USC went to Arkansas and kicked the crap out of them. Same thing for ND/Michigan. Exactly. If this same argument was being made for ND/Michigan (assuming Michigan had hypothetically lost to an unranked team of course) people would be blowing their stacks in defense of the Wolverines. If USC wins out, they should go. If Florida wins out, I'd say they should go. If Arkansas win out and USC doesn't, they should go. If none of those happen then UM can play the rematch. Agreed without question.

the only reason that doesn't bother me yet is that it's sullivan saying it. bruce would be another thing. Which part are you talking about - Soriano in right or Cliff Floyd? Bruce has reported that Soriano could be playing RF.

Gonna have to break up the love fest in here. ETA: I noticed that was post 7000 for myself and it was just as pointless as I wanted it to be.

Should be a beatdown in San Diego. With Arizona's win this weekend, the Raiders are now tied for the worst record in the league again.

Strong contenders we are not... yet. More pitchers needed there are. http://swg.stratics.com/content/lore/personas/images/yoda.gif The truth Master Yoda speaks. We don't need to waste money on CLee. Jacque will put up solid production for a #6 hitter in CF and Murton will hopefully improve in LF. We don't need any mroe hitting especially at the price Lee will cost.

hahahahahaha Yeah Brian, get the hell out of here you troll :) I agree. Ban him immediately.

Further, wasn't there some suspicion years ago that Soriano's age was mitigated by Dominican math? Yes there was, his age went from 24 to 26 a few years back if I remember correctly. Furcal had that same problem.

nowhere near to the extent they can go crazy on the Big East teams. the comparison is UConn and South Florida and Syracuse v. MSU, MN, and NW. Syracuse beat Illinois and UConn beat Indiana what's your point again? Illini actually beat Cuse the year before. Cuse and UConn being two mid-range Big East clubs beating the 2 dregs of the Big 10 means nothing in a one game deal. Beat MN & MSU (two mid-range Big 10 teams) after having gone through a Big 10 schedule like they do, and you might have something. Until then, it's still meaningless and the Big East isn't the conference the Big 10 is. Sorry but Syracuse and Illinois didn't play last year. Cuse and UConn are in last place in the Big East. Yeah OK, the entire country realizes the Big East isn't on the level of the big 3 conferences. You don't have to believe it if you don't want to, that's fine. But you're wrong. Big East might have some nice schools and might be putting out some decent kids, but overall it's not the same level of football over the course of a season. Maybe it will be someday, but it isn't right now. The entire country also thinks that wins are an excellent metric for evaluating pitchers but does that make them right also?

Looks like USC & Florida have a shot if they both win. Interesting that Arkansas looks to have no shot no matter what, but Florida does. Not sure about ND........if they beat SC, it would be very close. WV/Lou not possible. ND has no shot because they lost to Michigan. The polls would put Michigan ahead of ND for that reason. And Michigan's computer ranking is and will be higer. I think Arkansas has an outside shot because their computer ranking is killing them and with wins over LSU and Florida that will only improve. That, of course, hinges upon ND beating USC.

With a win over ND, USC will jump Michigan. They've already done so in the two polls (Harris and Coaches) and a win over ND would not only increase USC's computer ranking but make Michigan's worse.

I know people here (including me) generally put more faith in you than in other news writers, but other articles I've seen say that Soriano will play CF. Of course, they could just be guessing. How sure are you that RF is the plan for Soriano? Very sure. Interesting to say the least.

you just blew my mind Izturis + Pie for Manny? Then you have 4 outfielders in Jones, Manny, Soriano, Murton.

New BCS Standings

New BCS Standings

Michigan still #2 in BCS. Link

Michigan still #2 in BCS. Link

USC can and should be #2 if they beat ND, no matter the margin. They have played the strongest schedule of any contender, by far. Yeah, USC has jumped Michigan in both the Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll. BCS standings aren't out yet but if they beat ND, their ranking will improve.

I'm still holding out hope that we sign Drew and trade Jones, and/or sign Lugo for SS. If we can add one or two of the decent SPs that are available (Padilla, Westbrook), we have a real contender next year. I agree, the lineup still needs a big bat in the 6th spot, Im not holding out any hope for Jones. Im not sold on Westbrook just yet, but depending on what we can get for him I would be ok with that with him in the #4 or #5 spot. The porblem is we need a #2 or #3 type starter and IMO Padilla and Westbrook are not it. The Cubs don't need another bat. They need pitching. Jones and Barrett batting sixth and seventh is perfectly fine. We have Z and then ? for starting pitching. Imagine if Prior and Miller are healthy to join one of the second tier starters we get this offseason along with Z and Hill. The only starter we can count on next year is Z. Prior and Miller are still ?'s and Hill doesn't have a ton of ML experience and we don't know how he'll do once ML hitters start seeing him multiple times. To go into next season without acquiring a starter would be disappointing.

I'm still holding out hope that we sign Drew and trade Jones, and/or sign Lugo for SS. If we can add one or two of the decent SPs that are available (Padilla, Westbrook), we have a real contender next year. I agree, the lineup still needs a big bat in the 6th spot, Im not holding out any hope for Jones. Im not sold on Westbrook just yet, but depending on what we can get for him I would be ok with that with him in the #4 or #5 spot. The porblem is we need a #2 or #3 type starter and IMO Padilla and Westbrook are not it. The Cubs don't need another bat. They need pitching. Jones and Barrett batting sixth and seventh is perfectly fine. We have Z and then ? for starting pitching.

Starting pitching now, please.

on ESPN.com now

In that case: Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma (Big 12) vs. Boise State (at large) Rose Bowl - USC (Pac-10) vs. Florida (at large) Sugar Bowl - ND (at large) vs. Arkansas (SEC) Orange Bowl - Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Louisville (Big East) National title game - OSU (Big 10) vs. Michigan (at large) - The Big 10 and Pac-10 champs are contracted with the Rose Bowl, the Big 12 champs with the Fiesta, the SEC with the Sugar, and the ACC with the Orange. The first pick of the other eligible teams goes to whatever bowl(s) lose their contracted teams to the title game, then it goes Sugar/Orange/Fiesta. - The Rose Bowl will get the first pick since they lost OSU to the title game, but they won't want a USC/ND rematch (and they can't take Wisconsin to recreate the Big 10/Pac-10 rematch, which they say they'll do whenever possible), so they'll take Florida. - Then the Sugar Bowl picks, and they'll take ND. - Then the Orange, who will take Louisville. - Then the Fiesta will be stuck with Boise State. This would be just the way it'll go. That way the Big East team plays the ACC instead of the SEC or Big 10 team and that would prove that we belonged, now it's a lose/lose situation once again. As I said a couple pages back, it wouldn't be out of the question for WVU to get a second BCS bid for the Big East if they win out. They would deserve it but I don't think the good old boys would allow it. At the end of the year they'll likely be the highest ranked team that doesn't get an automatic berth.

In that case: Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma (Big 12) vs. Boise State (at large) Rose Bowl - USC (Pac-10) vs. Florida (at large) Sugar Bowl - ND (at large) vs. Arkansas (SEC) Orange Bowl - Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Louisville (Big East) National title game - OSU (Big 10) vs. Michigan (at large) - The Big 10 and Pac-10 champs are contracted with the Rose Bowl, the Big 12 champs with the Fiesta, the SEC with the Sugar, and the ACC with the Orange. The first pick of the other eligible teams goes to whatever bowl(s) lose their contracted teams to the title game, then it goes Sugar/Orange/Fiesta. - The Rose Bowl will get the first pick since they lost OSU to the title game, but they won't want a USC/ND rematch (and they can't take Wisconsin to recreate the Big 10/Pac-10 rematch, which they say they'll do whenever possible), so they'll take Florida. - Then the Sugar Bowl picks, and they'll take ND. - Then the Orange, who will take Louisville. - Then the Fiesta will be stuck with Boise State. This would be just the way it'll go. That way the Big East team plays the ACC instead of the SEC or Big 10 team and that would prove that we belonged, now it's a lose/lose situation once again. As I said a couple pages back, it wouldn't be out of the question for WVU to get a second BCS bid for the Big East if they win out.