vance_the_cubs_fan

I voted the Eagles. Hotel California, while overplayed, is one of my top ten favorite songs. There are some songs by the Eagles that I really can't stand, but I'm big into classic rock and the Eagles are one of my favorites.

Derwood I think you let your personal bias get in the way of your seeding of CCR.

There's no way CCR should be a #14 and they'll prove it with an upset here. CCR is one of my all-time favorites. They get my vote hands down!

I'm waiting to see how much TO improves the Cowboys offense.

I'll always remember being in Atlanta for Kerry's masterful performance in game five against the Braves in 2003. That will be my favorite memory of Wood.

I just spit Diet Coke all over my monitor. I don't know in what bizarro universe Hawk Harrellson is one of the best announcers in the game, but it isn't this one.

Smells Like Tuna QB- Jake Dellhomme RB- Tiki Barber RB- Corey Dillon WR- Larry Fitzgerald WR- Joey Galloway FL- Deuce McAllister TE- Antonio Gates DEF- K- Bench- Lee Evans WR Bench- Laurence Maroney RB Bench- Chris Brown RB Bench- Terry Glenn WR Bench- Kellen Winslow- TE

Went to the game tonight and had a good time. Unfortunately, Kottaras wasn't there. He had already been flown to Pittsburgh to play in the Future's Game tomorrow. One of the Baybears did give Addison a ball and that was cool. There was also this purple costumed thing named Reggy that entertained the crowd between innings. Addison liked him a lot.

It would be better for Hill to start over Maddux regardless of if Hill gets shelled each time out. Maddux is not part of this club's future. Hill may or may not be. What is very evident is that Hill has nothing left to prove at AAA and needs starts in the major leagues to either learn to adjust or not. If the Cubs leave Hill in AAA this year, they know nothing more about him than they did at this stage last year. Maddux is a FA at the end of the season. Teams that are 20 games under 500 should ship every person who fits that description out for whatever they can get and fill the spots with whomever is most ready. Some will succeed, many will fail. Either way, these are the players who may or may not be a part of the future. Maddux will not be.

Polanco is playing second for them still I believe. I am not sure how or where Walker would fit into their lineup. Is Shelton their DH, or does he play a lot of first? I think Shelton is playing a lot of first. My guess is they could work Walker in at DH, 2b, and 1b. Between those spots, he should be able to get quite a few AB's.

Wow...that was nifty

We're gonna blow it.

Probably, but I haven't kept up. What are your areas of certification?

Hi all.

It's hard to over-rate when you have the most yardage from scrimmage by a RB, most rushing yards, and most rushing TD's. Saying Smith is over-rated would be the same as saying Hank Aaron is over-rated. You can do it, but it's pretty ridiculous. Most yardage from scrimmage? Isn't that pointless? None of the great pass catching running backs have retired yet. Smith is overrated. Sanders was better. Payton was better. Brown was better. Sayers would of been better. Bo Jackson would of been as well. In what way were they better. The numbers don't bear out that conclusion. Smith was the best RB in gaining yards over the course of his career and scoring touchdowns. Those are crucial to the work of a running back. Jackson maybe would've been better, but the fact remains he wasn't. Is it a shame he got hurt? Of course, but that's sports. How many "would-be" greats are there in every sport who never reached that level because of injury? Part of being great in any sport is staying healthy enough to be on the field.

i wonder if hendry will hold out for a draft pick instead of the prospect he'd get in a trade. I don't think Hendry would risk Walker accepting arbitration.

Furthermore, this article was posted earlier in this thread. I disagree with his conclusion, but the data is good. I suggest you look at it. The data shows this: Dealing with rushing numbers: Dealing with receiving numbers: Here are the conclusions drawn over the first nine years of each of these four backs. So, in using only the first nine years of each player's career, Smith holds his own versus Payton, Brown, and Sanders. Given that is fairly equal and that Emmitt was able to stay productive longer, I give the nod to him based on career numbers.

I would likely go with Ruth as the best HR hitter, but if someone argued Aaron that wouldn't be over-rating him. They would be justified in that opinion. Taking everything into account, I do believe that Smith is the best running back of all time. He had a 9-year run nearly as good as Brown. Throw in his longevity, touchdowns, and yes, championships and the scale tips even further. Would Jim Brown have been just as good if he had played longer than nine seasons? I don't know, but he wanted to be an actor. Bad career choice in my opinion.

If Stone would trade Aramis for Izturis, that's all the proof I need that Stone should NOT be a major league GM.

I'd hope that Ponson and Rusch never ended up in a collision. That much fat slapping around is bound to cause a grease fire.

It's hard to over-rate when you have the most yardage from scrimmage by a RB, most rushing yards, and most rushing TD's. Saying Smith is over-rated would be the same as saying Hank Aaron is over-rated. You can do it, but it's pretty ridiculous. Hank Aaron is overrated. He had incredible longevity and consistency, but he never had ridiculous years like Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, etc. had. I don't think he ever had more than ~45 homers in a season, not saying thats not great, but he isn't the best home run hitter of all time. Just for some comparison, Aaron had 40 more homers than Babe Ruth in 4,000 more at bats. BTW, just to add to the discussion, Payton is the best, end of discussion. C'mon, Emmitt Smith isn't better, don't be ridiculous. And by what metric do you support this? I'm not being ridiculous. Smith: #1 Rushing TD's. Smith: #1 Rushing yards. Smith: #1 Yards from scrimmage by a RB. Smith: #1 TD's by a RB. He was the most productive RB in the history of the NFL. Sure that was due to longevitiy which should be a credit to him. Look at the average career of an NFL running back. The fact that Smith showed the toughness to stick it out and be productive through all those seasons is a testament to his greatness. The same could be said about Aaron in baseball. He was remarkably consistent in hitting HR's. Whether or not he is the greatest HR hitter, I'm not sure, but he certainly isn't overrated. So if someone rated Aaron as the greatest HR hitter, what would he be?[/b] I would say someone could say that Aaron is the greatest HR hitter of all time and be fully justified in that opinion.

I'd like to address this. Of course Aaron should be in the discussion, but is he the best all time? Listen, he had 40 more home runs than Babe Ruth. In terms of raw numbers, he had more home runs. But he also accomplished this in 4,000 more at bats. So is he really the best all time? I mean, its the same with some of these running backs and Emmitt Smith, in my opinion. Yes, in terms of raw totals, he has the market cornered...but he also played much much longer and thus had less "impact" seasons, and not to knock Emmitt, but for all that longevity and consistency, it sure took him a long time to crack those records. It took him a long time mainly because the one who held the record (Payton) was also noted for his longevity. It also should be noted that Smith broke Payton's rushing record his final season in Dallas (13th). Payton also played in 13 seasons. Even without those final years in Arizona, Smith would still be the rushing yards leader and the leader in rushing TD's. He would have still trailed Payton in total yards from scrimmage by a back and total TD's by a RB. Those last two records he needed the season in Arizona to accomplish. Furthermore, Smith's last season in Arizona was nearly if not as good as Payton's last season in Chicago.

I just looked at their site and Kottaras has an OBP over 400 from the catcher's spot. That's pretty damn good. The website is pimping a SS, Luis Cruz pretty highly.

Could Walker be the LH bat to send to the Tigers?

I maybe, if I can convince the wife, going to see the Mobile Baybears play the Mississippi Braves tomorrow night. Do the Baybears have anyone worth watching?