Soxbadger

Trading for A-Rod would free up salary over time. The only way I would deal for A-rod is the yanks pay enough so that he costs only 10 mil per year. Trading Freddy + Crede would be a wash this year and Garcia is going to be a FA next year. Crede is getting close to FA as well so in the long term Garcia + Crede will cost more than A-Rod. The difference now is that A-Rods contract at 10mil per year is a steal. Look at what A-Ram etc are wanting, you know Boras and Crede will want big money come FA time. A-Rod is under contract and a marquis player.

Why do you think that? Wisconsin has a committment from the top OL this year. It hasnt created some crazy domino effect. OSU, UM, etc still get the players they want. ' I think Zook suprised people this year. Teams like ND, FSU, etc may not have given Illinois a chance. Lets see what happens with Martez Wilson now. You know ND is about to pick up their game.

Well I live in Illinois so Ill give you a different side of the story. Wisconsin was not on tv once until they were in the top 25. Once they were in the top 25 they have been on every single week. Now your second point is "ESPN wants to see talent." Then why would Wisconsin not have been on every week? They only have 1 important senior, everyone else is younger. PJ Hill is a freshman and is leading the Big 10 in rushing. Yet I dont come in here and say "because PJ hill is the leading big 10 rusher Wisconsin is on tv." Its because they are winning. Juice has the 10th most passing yards in the Big 10, he has the lowest completion percentage of any starter, he has been sacked more than any other qb. They are not putting Juice on to showcase his skills this year. You can believe what you want, but they were on because of Wisconsin and PSU. As for "WR" being an important position. It is one of the only positions in football that is basically entirely dependent on another player. Sure they will run reverses with Benn and try and get the ball in his hands but how can you say WR is more important then OL and DL? It just isnt, and no matter how many skill positions you have, if you dont have the bodies to line up in the trenches against UM and OSU, you are not going to win a Big 10 title. So will Benn improve your chances to beat teams like Indiana, Northwestern, and Purdue? But I dont think it will make a real difference against teams who have multiple 1st round players on their defenses. And that is what it takes to win the Big 10. PSU won last year because of their defense. We shall see what happens.

Only problem is that wr is basically the last position you need to fill to make a good college football team.

Its nothing against Juice. Just another poster was suggesting that the reason why Illinois was on TV against Wisconsin and PSU, was Juice. Not the fact that PSU and Wisconsin are the programs ESPN wanted to show. It will be interesting to see how Juice progresses, he has amazing arm strength and qb mobility, just he either needs to learn to put some touch on throws, or get WR's who can handle the heat. Wisconsin also has gotten a verbal from Quincy Landingham athlete from Michigan. Hes a 4star recruit, who MSU lost due to the sucking fiasco.

If A-Rod would cost the Sox less than $10mil a year, I would do this trade in a second. Of the 3 players Crede is the hardest to give up, but I also do not think he will be part of the Sox in the long term, so trading him now while his value is high may be for the best. Crede has started to turn it around, but there is always a chance for regression. Garcia, I like him, but at the same time he wasnt the same player last year and the Sox seem to want to move 1 starter, and of those I would want Count or Garcia gone. Broadway, sure hes a quality spect, but so were Gio, etc. Hes not B-Mac and he wouldnt be on the MLB roster this year, and even next year would be a stretch. A-Rod on the other hand is a HOF type player.

They were televised because Wisconsin is a top 20 team. Top 20 teams almost always get televised. Most people outside of Illinois dont even know how Juice is. He does not even have outstanding numbers. The reality is, look at this weeks schedule. OSU on tv, Michigan on tv, Wisconsin on tv. Illinois not on tv. I know Illinois is getting better, and that is good for the Big 10 because right now with only 3-4 legit teams only Michigan and OSU are getting any respect. Atleast next year a victory against Illinois may mean something.

I would be shocked if Alvarez went to Miami. He has already turned down the job once, and while he is frineds with Shalala, I just cant see Alvarez wanting to put in the work

If I was a team that was looking to spend 10-15mil on a free agent pitcher, I would easily put some of that money into a bid on posting. Then no one but me can sign that player, if Boras wants to play games, the player goes back to Japan and I lose nothing and have effectively prevented him from going to another team. The only reason Boras has done well is generally he has players who people believe are "irreplaceable". Its not that he has some secret negotiation tactic.

Yeah but in this case if he loses, his cliennt goes back to Japan with nothing, and then has to do the whole process again next year. Not to mention he cant use anything like "Well another team has a better offer." His only bargaining tool is: If you dont give him the contract he wants, he goes back to Japan. Not really a great place to be if your an agent.

The posting system completely screws the player and his ability to negotiate a contract. It also will handcuff Boras, because according to the article the only way the team has to pay the posting fee, is if they actually sign Matsuzaka. A smart team would put in a big posting bid, and then low ball the hell out of the contract negotiation. That way only 1 of 2 things can happen, A) the player signs for your offer, B ) they go back to Japan and you lose no money and have effectively prevented the player from coming here. Boras will be faced with accepting an offer, or sending his player back to Japan. My guess is even if the offer is some what below market, he would have to take it in the end. The whole key is winning the bidding war, because then you have exclusive rights to negotiation and can basically rake Boras over the coals. Its doubtful you could get a long term contract out of this scenario, but you could probably get a 2 year deal, because after the 2 years Matsuzaka would atleast be outside of the Japanese posting system. Otherwise he goes back this year, and then next year the same thing could happen. Its very backward.

Well then we have to agree to disagree. I watched the entire game at and half time I thought as long as Illinois doesnt start doing anything stupid Wisconsin just choked away a 1 loss season. The special teams was terrible. Illinois has the worst punter Ive seen in a long time. The game calling in the second half was abysmal, outside of that 1 play where Juice completely missed the player, the entire half was uninspiring. If Zook calls more option / qb draw, etc, the game is over. Wisconsin had no answer for Juice scrambling, and clearly had no idea how to handle the option. The fact is, Illini had a huge lead at half. If they just play average in the second Wisconsin would have lost. They went into a shell and played terribly. You knew Wisconsin's offense was going to come out strong, Stocco just kept missing open players in the first half. But Illinois had a chance, and it was not the players who blew it. Maybe it was the first interception in the second half that made Zook lose confidence. But after that play, it looked like a completely different offense.

The problem with a guy like Chow, is that he is completely unproven at the HC level. Maybe he can coach up these QB's, but there is also a good chance that many of his success stories were a product of the systems he has been involved in. BYU and NC State are system teams. USC just had more talent then the rest of the Pac 10, so it really would not have mattered if I was the OC, they were going to score points. Chow would be a good OC, the problem is, Im sure he wants a HC job.

I generally dont really look that much at football recruiting until closer to signing day. And alot of Bowden's problems this year come from the classic FSU problem: QB's. Outside of Brad Johnson and Charlie Ward, FSU just always has had problems getting consistent play from the QB, regardless of how highly touted they are.

The fact is, It should of never came down to 1 play. And even if he makes the catch, it still would of only been a 14 point game with plenty of time to go. And I dont think that ends the game 14 points was not insurmountable, not to mention every team wishes there was 1 catch or play that they would of made that could of been a score. Wisconsin kicked plenty of FG's in the second half, and if they would of needed to they would of gone for TD's so its hard to tell whether or not 14 would of stood up over almost 2 quarters. Wisconsin can not play the option, they can not play against mobile QB's. In the first half, Juice was going insane because he got to make plays with his feet and his arm. In the second half Zook completely changed the offense and started to go with a "3 yard and a cloud of dust" approach. http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/boxscore?gid...&page=plays Compare the play calling. In the first half, Juice touches the ball a crazy amount of times. In the second half, all of a sudden you have a ton of touches by Mendenhall and Thomas. Maybe Zook doesnt watch game tapes, I dont know. But when they started to run the option I cringed because Wisconsin is terrible against it. When Juice started to do QB scrambles etc, it was screwing with the Badgers defense too. The second half just was like watching a completely different team, and it was clear Zook was playing "not to lose."

WTF are you talking about words in your mouth? I said: I did not say you said Bowden was racist, I pointed out how ludicrous of a statement it was. Back when Ward was a QB there were not many college teams run by a non-white QB. Therefore it would seem odd that he didnt mind a non-white QB with Ward, but that is the reason hes holding down Lee. So next time you are going to post a flippant comment to me, atleast read my post and actually respond to something I said. I never said you thought he was racist. As for the rest of your comment, I think you answered it for yourself: And your about to cut your nose off despite your face. Bowden gave FSU 10+ years of being one of the most dominant football programs in the history of college football. Due to a change in circumstances (realignment of ACC) it is now much harder to win national championships. See back in the old days of the ACC, it was FSU and nobody. All they had to do was win 2 games, Florida and Miami, and they went undefeated. Now the ACC has better teams, and other conferences (cough Pac 10) still have 1 powerhouse. That makes it so a team like USC will almost always go undefeated, and therefore teams in the SEC, ACC, and Big 10 have to play almost perfect for a chance. If Bowden goes down, you are not going to all of a sudden start winning, especially if it gets ugly. Bowden has years of relationships in Florida, and if FSU dicks over Bowden, you know that the recruiting pipeline will dry up and you will not be getting the Rolles of the world anymore. I would rather FSU ride Bowden out for another few years, let him leave on his terms, and keep all the goodwill that he has built within the state of Florida. You just cant be disloyal to a guy like Bowden, he built the program. Guys like Bear Bryant, Bowden, Jo Pa, leave on their own terms. They earned it, and to do it any other way would be to show a complete lack of loyalty by the school. And something people would not forget. So perhaps a new coach would win maybe 1-2 more games next year, but you would feel the ramifications of losing Bowden for the next 10, especially in Florida where he is the man.

? Illinois could of run the option all day on Wisconsin. Unexpectedly in the second half Illinois stopped doing it. Not to mention the fact that Zook decided to start trying to run between the tackles against Wisconsin. I really dont see how you could say the players lost the game for Illinois, when it was the players who got the big lead, and then it was Zook who started playcalling like Dennis Green.

Illini footballs biggest weakness is: 1) Special teams. Against Wisconsin I saw one of the worst special teams ever. 2) Zook's coaching ability. He may be able to recruit, but the game against Wisconsin showed he has no clue how to coach. He let the Badgers off the hook and let a game that Wisconsin had no business winning (after being down so much) slip away. Illini were definitely outmatched in terms of talent, but with PJ Hill hurting and Stocco cold as ice, you just have to win that game. Although it was a tale of 2 halfs at QB, Stocco playing his worst 1st half of the season and then Juice playing a terrible 2nd half.

Chimpy I just dont get your Bowden hate. As for racism, Bowden has had Charlie Ward as his Qb and seemed to have no problem with it. Bowden built FSU, as FSU has been my favorite team outside of the Big 10 for almost 20 years now, mainly because of my hate for UF and Miami, I just dont understand how you can be so against him. Without Bowden, FSU would not be a national powerhouse. He should get to leave on his own terms, regardless of what happens, because he is that program.

Michigan with Manningham is much different than Michigan without Manningham. They also have the best front 4 I have seen in college football in a long time.

Well that goes with out saying. No one can undo what has been done to that girl.

Um its not rhetorical The best chance MJF has for survival is stem cell research. If stem cell research is made illegal, the chances of MJF's survival are drastically reduced. This should not change some ones opinion of stem cell research because my understanding of the reasons against stem cell are not about its perceived scientific uses. It is all about the potential for misuse, and the protections of the unborn. Not to mention how is my statement about "republicans". It clearly is about those against stem cell research, which could be both dems and repubs. Just in Mo they are republicans. And its clear that MJF has no problem supporting both sides of the fence, as people have already pointed out that he has supported Republicans. So my question is, why do you think this is an attack against republicans, when it clearly is an attack against those who do not support stem cell, regardless of whether you are dem or republican. That is my problem with this, that people want to make it about party affiliation, when it is about saving peoples lives. If Republicans want stem cell research and were not advocating against it, I doubt MJF would be on tv. But they are, and not only are they advocating against it, they are using celebs (Jeff Suppan, Kurt Warner) just to use them. Not to mention the ads are purposefully misleading, saying that it would make cloning legal. Yet why are no Republicans outraged by this ad? You cant have it both ways, you cant use celebs and deceit, and then get upset when the other side uses celebs and questionable deceit tactics.

Interesting that he denies it. His best defense outside of complete denial would have been that it was a protected act under the first amendment, and prosecuting this would be like prosecuting a mohel for circumcision. But since he denies it its more complicated because now you are convicting some one on the memory of some one who was 2 at the time. Also the divorce complicates it because it could be vindictive and the child could be a pawn. No matter what it just is a sad circumstance, especially if the father really did not do it.

Im late to this thread but oh well. First on showing pictures of fetuses. Why about 4-5 times a year do I have to see pictures of dead fetuses outside of Union Station, or down Lake Shore Drive? Its because people want to make a point, and they do it with shock. That is their perrogative, it wont make a hell of a lot of difference to some one who knows the truth, or already has their opinion set. But for those few, a picture may change their entire mindset. Second to MJF. Good for him. Missouri has an amendment to be voted on for stem cell resarch. This amendment could drastically change MJF life. It could lead to a cure that would make it so that he would not have to do a commercial where he shakes, or where he has to take medicine. It could save his life. As some one who has had a family members die of parkinsons and alzheimers, you realize that these diseases are worse then death sentences. Im sorry but MJF has a right to speak out, to say what he wants, and to support whoever he choses. If the Republicans in Mo were the ones trying for stem cell, and the Dems were against, he would be supporting the Republicans. He is not playing party sides, he is playing his own agenda. But Mo Republicans would rather twist the argument to "if this amendment is passed it will legalize cloning" which is already illegal under federal law, and which almost no one supports. MJF just wants his best chance, and that is this amendment passing. If that means he has to support the Dems, then he is going to do it. If the Republicans dont like it, they can support stem cell research and I gaurantee MJF will be on the tv supporting your favorite candidate. The problem is, many people seem to want MJF to support people who are basically trying to make sure he has no chance of survival.

If Rose is all about the money, then my guess is that he goes to Illinois. For a 1 and done player it is all about exposure, and playing for a Big 10 school will get you on tv much more than C-USA. Not to mention with the Gordon fiasco, Rose walks in as a hero. Not many other programs can offer that.