TripJ

Not sure if you're being serious or not, but rearranging rotations to match up with competition is something that would give teams an advantage, but no team has the guts or vision to do it. MLB coaching/management is almost as conservative and copycat as NFL coaching/management. No one wants to deviate from the norm. Baseball coaching/management is much more conservative than the NFL. Otherwise you'd still see the wishbone and no forward pass in the NFL. I'm a Bears fan. May I inquire as to what this "forward pass" thing is?

So, for Greg Maddux and $12 million or so over the next three years, we get a guy who is learning how to hit AND field? Kill me now.

He was a great wife beater too. Very good timing with those body blows. And the slaps across the face? Wow! Excellent form. Seriously? I knew he was a philanderer, didn't know he was a wife-beater too.

Last night our local minor-league team (the Cedar Rapids Kernels, Class A affiliate of the Angels) had its annual Hot Stove Banquet. The keynote speaker was Garvey. I've loathed Garvey since I was 10, as every good Cubs fan should, so I toyed with the idea of skipping the banquet for the first time since I've lived here. But since the proceeds of the event go to a good cause, and because the folks that run the Kernels are all terrific people, I decided to go anyway. Garvey, as it turns out, is a pretty good speaker. Good sense of timing, good sense of humor, very upbeat and positive. I found myself enjoying the event a great deal. After, my friend wanted to get a picture of me with the man I've always considered Baseball Enemy #1. So I got in line to shake his hand and all of that. When I got to him, I told him my friend wanted a picture of us, but I couldn't in good conscience pose for it without an apology for 1984. He laughed, grabbed my program and signed "Jason, sorry about 1984. Your friend, Steve Garvey." He told me that if I thought I hated him, I should walk down Michigan Avenue with him sometime. He spent the next half hour talking with a bunch of kids from a local high school team. He was terrific. I don't know if I'll forgive him, but I've decided on a truce for now. Would YOU still hate Garvey?

Just to play Devil's Advocate, of course Alford is going to say he loves it in Iowa City, what would you expect him to say? I would think Bloomington is probably just as nice a place to raise a family also. Your feelings aside, Alford has taken some heat since coming to Iowa, and deservedly so, so I don't think he maybe "feels the love" as much as you think he does. If he is offered the Indiana job, I could definitely see him bolt bolt from Iowa City. I've already stated in this thread that I hope he does leave for Indiana, and personally, I think he's as good as gone if the job is offered to him. Bob Bowlsby, our AD, has been steadfast in standing by Coach Alford through some pretty disappointing seasons. But after Coach pulled off his best coaching effort in his entire tenure at Iowa (getting last years' team to the tournament after all of the early season turmoil), declined to offer him an extension. Secondly, the cupboard is pretty bare next season. And that might be generous. I think we'll be perfectly awful next season regardless. Couple that with the fact that after the run we made late last year and the success we've had this year, I doubt Alford's stock will be any higher any time in the next 2-3 years. I think he's gone. It's funny. When he and Coach Ferentz came here, everyone thought that we made the right hire in baseketball and screwed up the football hiring. Now, in retrospect, we had that completely backwards. :oops:

That "overrated" Iowa team is 3-1 against the teams you say are the three best in the conference. :? For what it's worth, they've also won five straight against ranked teams, and have more wins against the top 50 than all but a handful of teams (see hawkeyecub's post above). They might not make a great tourney run, but they're hardly overrated. They've proven they are a very good team.

You should be proud. The fact that you can't enjoy what could be our first sole Big Ten Championship in 36 years simply because you don't like the coach is pathetic. We've not won a share of the title in 27 years. This is the latest we've been in first place in 24 years. AND we're doing it in a season where the Big Ten is as deep and solid as it has been in years. Not to mention that this team is led by a group of Iowans who have never been in a sniff of trouble and have only busted their tails since they first put on a Hawkeye uniform. But yeah instead you dream about getting a new coach. Good Lord. Easy, man. I AM proud. I love this group of kids. I pull hard for them every time out. I think they're a good bunch, and am happy for their achievements. I've supported this team through good and bad times, and always will. That being said, I cannot stand our head coach. I think he's an arrogant, pompous jerk who has mishandled the program almost every step of the way. I don't believe that he is a good fit here, and I would be very happy if he left. Don't confuse my dislike for Alford with my loyalty to the team. It's no different than rooting FOR the Cubs yet wishing Dusty would go somewhere else (I do that too, for the record).

Mike Davis thinks Indiana needs a former player to coach the team. This sets up nicely for Iowa, I hope. We make a nice little run here at the end, Indiana throws a pile of $$$ at Steve Alford, and we're finally free. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he? Despite our success this season, I still can't stand the guy. Let Indiana have him.

Never heard of Lennie Friedman. he played a lot of DT in the last game of the regular season. he's pretty much a backup OL that's somewhat serviceable in that he's versatile. I am really concerned that this is what the Bears are considering o line depth. I want them to get some younger guys who will be capable of being solid starters in a year or two. These guys are just roster filler. I dunno, Angelo has talked a lot in the past about the fact that he believes success on the field is due mainly to controlling both lines. I feel reasonably comfortable that he'll draft a guy or two that can do exactly that.

I don't even really know what that means -- "different Panthers team". Anywho, I don't know that Delhomme will quite get the same pressure as last game (what, 8 sacks? now THAT was an impressive performance). I think Carolina will have more success in moving the ball than last time. The Bears D hasn't been looking quite as strong as they did back then. Maybe the week off helps, I don't know. Aside from Atlanta (and I'm not counting Minnesota), they gave up a boat load of yards down the stretch. I'll still go with 24-16. Carolina's O-line wasn't exactly great protecting Delhomme last week either (3 sacks by the NYG DL). Their tackles were getting beaten like rented ponies.

I was actually in the Iowa section, if there actually was one. Seemed like we were everywhere. As for getting a little worked up after the lead, you were entitled. It was a great finish, well if you were a 'Cats fan. You should've seen me after Tate to Holloway last year in the Cap One.

There's some truth to that, no doubt about it. But looking at Iowa's last four games (including the losses to Michigan and Northwestern) they completely outplayed their oppposition. Even though Michigan and NW beat us fair and square, it took a couple of lucky bounces to go their way. Then they just destroyed Wisconsin in Madison and did the same to Minny in Iowa City. I think the bowls also looked at how we finished in relation to the teams that beat us. We finished stronger than NW and Michigan and got the nod for that reason. I don't think it's fair to say that it was solely fanbase (though I'd be naive and foolish to say it didn't play a significant role). By those standards, you could say that Penn St. got some luck in beating NU then.. I mean, I don't know that you can say really use that in sports.. you know what I mean? NU also beat Wisconsin and destroyed Michigan St. in East Lansing when they were both very strong teams. And considering that Iowa and NU had the same record, and NU beat Iowa, I have to think that 90% of the decision was bowl-revenue related: Iowa had already been to the Sun Bowl and they have a bigger fanbase for the bigger bowl. Like I said, I know the fanbase played a large role. I'd be a fool if I thought otherwise. In the end, the bowls are all about the almighty dollar. I was at the NW game in Evanston along with several thousand of my Iowa brethren. There *may* have been more of us there than there were Wildcats fans. If you are a bowl committee and you see that, all else being equal, who do you take, you know? I don't think Iowa was MORE deserving, just that we weren't UNdeserving. Anyway, when are the Notre Dame fans coming in to hijack this thread?

There's some truth to that, no doubt about it. But looking at Iowa's last four games (including the losses to Michigan and Northwestern) they completely outplayed their oppposition. Even though Michigan and NW beat us fair and square, it took a couple of lucky bounces to go their way. Then they just destroyed Wisconsin in Madison and did the same to Minny in Iowa City. I think the bowls also looked at how we finished in relation to the teams that beat us. We finished stronger than NW and Michigan and got the nod for that reason. I don't think it's fair to say that it was solely fanbase (though I'd be naive and foolish to say it didn't play a significant role).

FIRE IT UP, HAAAKS!!! Is Ferentz mini too? No? Haaks by chirteen.

I think this will be the make-or-break game for Orton too. If he can take a step forward, he might - MIGHT - be able to solidify his hold on the top spot at QB for a little longer. But I suspect if he plays as badly as he has in the last few weeks, Lovie will make the switch to Rex. One thing that's encouraging is that Cincy and Indy ran the ball very effectively against the Steelers. Of course, there's the small matter of having multi-dimensional offensive attacks...

Nah, no worries. I always feel compelled to defend anyone from that 2002 team because it was the one that really resurrected the Iowa program. Plus, my cube is surrounded by Cyclones who like to take potshots at that team since they handed us our only regular-season loss and probably kept us from getting a national title shot of our own. When I was looking up the stats for that season, what really struck me is how similar Quinn's numbers this season were to Palmer's in '02. Similar completion percentage, similar TD passes and TD/INT ratios, similar Y/ATT. The only real difference is that Quinn passed for about 300 fewer yards than did Palmer. Very interesting. Those were the kind of numbers I was hoping for from Drew Tate this season.

That's really surprising. I seem to remember some real non-factors getting invited in years past. Brad Banks anyone? Still bitter about Iowa being selected ahead of ND for the BCS in 2002? :P Banks was hardly a non-factor that season. He had everything a Heisman candidate needs to win in that 2002 season. He was second in the voting (albeit a large margin behind Palmer) ahead of Larry Johnson, Willis McGahee, and Ken Dorsey, so the voters certainly didn't think of him as a non-factor. First, he had the numbers. He led the nation in passing efficiency and accounted for 31 total TDs (26 passing, 5 rushing). He might not have had as many passing yards as the winner that season did (Palmer), but statistically, he had a terrific year. Second, he had the hardware. He was the Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year by the Chicago Tribune. He won the Davey O'Brien award for being the nation's top QB. He was also named the 1st Team All-American QB by three national publications, and a finalist for the Walter Camp award. Third, he had team success. He led an Iowa team that was unranked in the pre-season to an 11-1 regular season record that included four victories over eventual bowl teams, handing top-ten Michigan the worst home loss in the history of their program. Iowa finished the season 11-2 and ranked 8th in the nation in both polls. Lastly he had "those" moments. He engineered three impressive comeback victories - on the road against the Ben Roethlisburger-led Miami (OH) Redhawks, wiping out a huge 4th quarter deficit in Happy Valley against Penn State, and at home against Purdue where he connected on pass plays of 95 and 7 yards in the closing minute of the game to win. He might not have had professional success, but that season was a terrific collegiate season, and he was deserving of being a Heisman finalist. He most certainly was NOT a "non-factor." You may resume your arguments over Notre Dame's worthiness now. :)

I heard the same thing on Mike and Mike on my way to work this morning. Delgado to the Mutts for two players (names escape me) and $7 million. Busy week for Omar.

That's true. 95% of the world's problems can be fixed with duct tape. Leaky pipe? Use duct tape. Rip in the seam of your tent? Use duct tape. Girlfriend won't shut up? Use duct tape. Duct tape is kind of like the force. A light and dark side it has. Binds the universe together it does.

Meh, the Hawkeyes kick off in 7 days, 20 hours, and 30 minutes. FIRE UP, HAAAKS!!!

I could be wrong, but right now, I believe Murton is the only OF on the roster approaching anything near a .900 OPS. Naturally, he's the odd man out. I hate this regime sometimes. I really do.

He's not treated as what he is. He isn't treated as a guy to fill in in emergency situations. Instead, he's the first [expletive] bat off the bench in crucial situations, not to mention spot starting EVERYWHERE. I also think that his double-play ratio leads the team. Not good. I agree that he's not a great player, but there are a lot of guys on this team that have been worse. He's not even close to possessing the lowest OPS on the team (Blanco, Patterson, and Nomar are worse), and really isn't that much lower than Holla, Neifi, and Hairston. Not enough? He also possesses better OBP than Neifi, Holla, Blanco, and Dubois (at least when he was here). Again, I'm not saying Jose Macias is a good baseball player. I won't even argue he's an average one. I guess if there are only a handful of non-catchers in the NL that are worse than he is, they must be all Cubs, and I guess that would explain a lot about this season.

Where's that coming from? I know his option isn't likely to vest, but I figured at the price of the team option, he'd be a lock to return. The way I see it he cleared waivers, his option won't vest, he's getting older, and we also have Hairston. I may be in the minority here, but Hairston hasn't shown me anything great really, maybe with more constant playtime he will come around, could just be me in general hehe. Agreed. Hairston hasn't done much of anything to blow my skirt up. He has zero power, little patience (I know he's got a decent OBP, but isn't a lot of that due to a ridiculously high HBP rate?), and a much worse glove than I could have ever expected. I'd MUCH prefer Walker full-time at 2B next season.

Where's that coming from? I know his option isn't likely to vest, but I figured at the price of the team option, he'd be a lock to return.

That's exactly what I think they'll do. And at least in one case, it'll be long overdue.