ZoomSlowik

Memphis looks awful, if it weren't for Sallie hitting 5 3's they'd be down about 10 to a CS-Northridge team that isn't really playing that well.

I bumped the draft back a week because we don't have nearly enough people. If you're up for roto there's plenty of space.

Memphis got a sweet-heart draw, I'm not a fan but they're going to have a hard time losing to the teams in their half of the bracket. If someone can take out UConn they'd really have to choke to not make the Final Four.

I have absolutely zero faith in Memphis this year, they're going to have to have a road to Detroit that's full of flawed teams that they can physically dominate, because I don't see them beating a solid opponent. Even playing in Conference USA they're only at 44.4% from the field on the year and don't have a single dependable outside shooter. I also simply don't trust Evans to make good decisions late in games when they absolutely need a bucket. I really think they're getting carry-over credit from last year when Rose and Roberts dominated, and they don't have anything close to those guys anymore.

Thanks to Yahoo's new settings, I can set everyone's keepers and I don't have to worry about someone screwing it up (*cough Jason cough*).

We're still a bit short on people and the draft is approaching, so I'll just post the info. Keep in mind this is ROTO scoring. Yahoo ID- 175918 password- soxtalk

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 01:12 PM) Are any of the Soxtalk Leagues 20-team leagues? I only like to play in 20-team leagues. 12-team leagues are lame. Very unlikely.

Aw crap. My bad, I ran league #3, I missed it because it was on one of my alternate ID's. I'll set it up and send out invites, though I'm moving it to my primary ID so I have to do it the hard way.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 27, 2009 -> 11:12 AM) Keeping him fresh down the stretch would be quite a bit different from how Rondo was treated last season. He got the same treatment as the Bulls give their kids when Cassel showed up, and it hurt the Celts a fair amount. Rondo's play suffered because every time he made a mistake he was looking over his shoulder to see if he was going to be taken out, and Cassell didn't give them as much as Rondo was giving them in the first place. Yeah, the Celtics really paid for it, what, with the 66 wins, NBA title and All-Star caliber play from Rondo this season.

Dar Tucker is a heck of an athlete, but he makes a lot of mind-bogglingly (is that a word?) stupid plays, especially with his shot selection. He's quite the ballhog. His jumper also leaves something to be desired.

QUOTE (Felix @ Feb 26, 2009 -> 09:58 AM) Why are you guys still using 6.5 when OOTP 10 was just announced? You can convert the league to the newer game. You lose your history, but that's what keeping 6.5 installed with a copy of the old league is for. Mostly because the people running the league have no intention of spending the $30 to upgrade when the one we're using runs fine for our purposes. We've also had problems with people on newer versions trying to run our file in the past, it has had to be on Opening Day of whatever year in order to import the league (not sure if they fixed that or not).

Happy birthday you crazy bastard.

I'm too lazy to go dig up our old thread, so I'll start another one... After several months of work, we're starting up a new league with updated rosters for 2009. For those OOTP purists, we ditched the points and the 1-100 ratings as well, and we're including 40-man rosters, waivers, Rule V and free agency compensation as well. If you're worried about this league dying, don't. We've already got 20+ experienced GM's that are veterans of long-running leagues. We're just looking for the last 6-7 players to round out the league. There are numerous Soxtalk members in the league, including myself, Steve, Slav and Wite. Here's the link to our message board: SSBL Message Board And here's our recently-posted file (some aspects still a work in progress): Standings Page If you're interested, you can fill out an application on the message board. Ideally we'd like all of the GM's to have a copy of OOTP 6.0 or 6.5 so I don't have to manually edit lineups, but we'll see how things go.

Unless they changed the structure or she's in a different program than I think she is, communcations is gen-ed the first two years (filled with discussion sections full of TA's that may/may not speak fluent English) followed by an application for the major courses the last two years.

I'm also looking for an upgrade to my other pitcher. I'm keeping Hanley, Utley, Tex and Peavy, but the following can all be had: Matt Kemp Giovany Soto Aramis Ramirez Evan Longoria Joe Nathan Zack Grienke Chad Billingsley

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 10:45 AM) And even then...the Bulls had clearly offered quite a bit more than the Lakers ever tried to offer for Gasol. The Bulls may have turned down a more expensive offer, but never had the chance to even evaluate a deal on the level of what the Lakers gave up for Gasol. That's really not the case if you believe the reports that came out right when it happened (I'm too lazy to check the old TalkBulls thread, pretty sure Sam Smith wrote about it). The Bulls supposedly had the opportunity to get Gasol for Noah, Thabo and PJ Brown's contract, but JR nixed it because he'd have had to re-sign Brown to a sizeable deal before the trade for cap purposes and pay a sizeable amount on the luxury tax. We'd have also had to take Brian Cardinal, but then again his deal is smaller than that of Larry Hughes.

It's that time of year again. I want to try something new this year. If you were a commish of one of the Soxtalk leagues last year, please set up the league through the "renew league" feature. I just did it for the Soxtalk Keeper and it is ridiculously easy and requires virtually no effort. That will allow you to automatically send out invites to the people that participated last year, and we can fill in as necessary once the draft times get closer. For anyone new, just post in this thread with your relative level of experience and whether you prefer head-to-head or roto scoring. We'll group you with other Soxtalk members once we get enough people to fill some leagues.

Invites through Yahoo should be coming...

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 10, 2009 -> 11:21 PM) Wow, VDN and Tyrus have really gotten their act together. Rose-Gordon-Deng-Tyrus-Noah have a lot of potential to do great things with each other, which is part of the reason why i hesitate over an Amare deal. Pax got to you too? I just don't see it personally, this is the same team that lost 5 in a row not that long ago and has looked inept for most of the year. They're not exactly beating amazing teams during this stretch either. We've said this same thing in the past and that's how we got to this point. Amare would be a massive upgrade and help make life a lot easier for Rose.

Phoenix seems to be getting a bit carried away with their defense-first approach, especially since they still wouldn't be very good defensively with the ancient Shaq and Nash as the key pieces of their team and no one else on the roster that I would call even an above average defender. If they were still playing 7 seconds or less I could see why Thomas would be a great fit, he gives you an athlete that can run the floor and it's easier to hide the fact that he's a suspect offensive player in transition. However, if you're switching to a more halfcourt-oriented offense it seems to me that you'd want a guy like Beasley that has the potential to be an elite offensive option and can already stick open jumpers and occasionally create his own shot. I would think that's especially of concern with Stoudemire leaving, that puts a lot more pressure on several guys that are decent but not stellar scorers at this point in their career. It seems to me like Phoenix is going to get pretty bad in the near future once Shaq and Nash totally fall off and/or end up elsewhere after 2010.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 9, 2009 -> 09:57 PM) I forgot how glorious NBA Street 2 was. Been playing it for about six hours straight now. I still pick that game up too, it's amazingly fun, though the ancient rosters bug me a bit (it's weird seeing Pippen in the game). My custom team of Lebron/Wade/Paul/Howard/Bosh is untouchable (obviously adjusting the lineup based on matchup).

That seems kind of weird to me that Phoenix would take Marion back after trading him last season and moving to more of a half-court system. Plus one of the stories was that he was a problem in the locker room. Here's another thought: would Miami be better off just keeping Beasley and Marion, waiting until the off-season, and then signing either Boozer or Millsap? I think it's debateable. However, I think that makes quite a bit of sense from both sides. Miami seems to desperately want more length and post-scoring up front and Wade and Amare would be a scary combination, and Phoenix would get considerable cap space and a potential stud in Beasley. That seems to be a hard offer to beat unless they can somehow exchange 2010 big men with Toronto or get Lamarcus Aldridge. Golden State giving up Biedrins or Ellis is another interesting one, though personally I wouldn't touch Monta right now.

Yes, you are reading it wrong. The Bird rights can't be traded with him if he no longer has Bird rights. Quoted from NBA Salary Cap FAQ:

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 9, 2009 -> 12:30 PM) As a guy who's going to be an unrestricted FA anyway this offseason, what would Gordon lose if he waived his Bird rights to allow a trade? According to the Wikipedia entry on the cap, if Gordon were to waive his rights to allow a trade, the Suns would be able to sign him under the same Bird rights as those rights are traded with him. I don't think it would cost him any money unless he thinks the Bulls are going to come up with a better offer. I don't quite get what you're trying to say. How would he still have Bird rights with Phoenix if he has to waive them to allow a trade? That would mean that they would have to have enough space under the cap to sign him to an extension, which they don't. It would make him a mortal lock to be a FA and rule out any sign and trades possibilities.

Even DePaul managed to beat Indiana State.