ZoomSlowik

Beat you guys to it.

Cuse had the stop, but McNamara traveled while trying to secure the ball. Results in a big 3 by Anderson.

Just thought I'd throw out another interesting nugget that's somewhat related to my last post: The last team that won a National Championship without at least two future NBA players on the roster was the 1988 Kansas squad led by Danny Manning. Something to keep in mind when filling out your brackets, since it probably excludes a couple of teams of note.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 01:50 PM) HEY!! A nice short post from Zoom!! Your one of my fav posters, but man you need to do short and sweet posts like this more often. Typically I have more thoughts to get out there, especially when responding to a somewhat long post. I still say I should be getting at least 2 to 1 credit on my post count.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 01:31 PM) UCONN = overrated. Rely too much on the blocked shot. No perimeter D. Haven't shown the ability to hustle or execute consistently. You can only get by on "pure talent" for so long. That being said, they should be able to come back against the Cuse. UNC wasn't exactly stellar on D and often looked a little sloppy as well last year, they did pretty well. Illinois wasn't exactly elite on defense either. In a weak field, I don't see them laying an egg. Their only real flaws are spotty shot selection and free throw shooting. Their domiance on the boards and typically good defense should probably overcome that at least until the Final Four.

QUOTE(watchtower41 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 01:02 PM) ORANGE looking real good right now, up 22 with the spread. What was the spread, 10? I would have taken that in a heartbeat, and I'm not just saying that because Cuse is up 8. UConn has gotten kind of lazy in some of these games of late, and Syracuse is sharper after playing last night. PSU looked like a mortal lock getting a point, but I wouldn't bet it since they're playing my guys. I like Georgetown -3 and Nova -10 tonight.

UConn looks bad. They just can't put the ball in the net, and Syracuse is getting transition baskets on the other side. Anderson and Gay have been brutal so far, and only Brown and Armstrong have really done anything. I wouldn't expect the upset yet though. UConn has put together big runs on Cuse before this year, and Calhoun is probably going to tear them a new one at the half so they come out playing better D.

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 11:18 AM) We should have one like this. The Sox will trade for Carl Everett this year? God I hope that one is fiction.

How is he supposed to quote exact passages in the book when it isn't out yet? All that is available is a couple of sections in SI.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 09:28 PM) He did what he should have in defending his player, but I and everyone else could have done without all the f-bombs. I'm not blaming Boeheim. That was the right reponse, although maybe without the swearing. That'd have been a lot more entertaining if Bobby Knight were coaching Syracuse this year. They still probably would have won 10 games though. Syracuse didn't exactly win a lot of games that they shouldn't have. They played a pretty soft non-conference schedule, and there are still a few dogs in the Big East.

After Boeheim went off on the reporters calling McNamara overrated, I started thinking about whether I agree with the reporter or Coach Boeheim. Personally, I'm a little torn. He's turning it over at a fairly high rate, and his shooting percentage is horrendous. It's gone down every year since his freshmen year too. I have a hard time supporting anyone that is shooting 35.5%, but he does have a lot of value to the team as a playmaker, and he does seem to hit the clutch shots. He's pretty good and he's very valuable for Syracuse, but there are quite a few PG's I'd rather have then him. His shot selection is just brutal most of the time.

I'm going to do a few more just for fun. Feel free to add you thoughts on these, or add a category. 21) All of the Sox starters will finish with 15 wins or more. Fiction. Mark goes 17-9, Javier goes 16-10, Jose goes 15-8, Freddy and Jon go 14-10. That accounts for 76 of about 100 wins. 22) The Sox will have 6 players finish with more than 20 homers. Fiction. Konerko in the high 30's, Thome in the mid to high 30's, Dye in the high 20's, Crede and Uribe in the low 20's. Iguchi finishes with 20 on the nose. 23) The Sox will win 100 games. I'm kind of torn, but I'm going to say fiction. They'll win over 96, but I think they were a bit fortunate in a lot of close games last year. 24) Brandon McCarthy will start more than 5 games. Fiction. Our guys are pretty durable. I'll give him 2 spot starts and another start after we clinch the division. 25) The Sox will have more than 4 players in the All-Star game. Fact. Ozzie will stack the lineup as much as he can. Konerko, Buehrle, and Vazquez will be chosen before the manager votes. Plus we all know that if a Sox player is in the fan vote, you might as well just put him on the roster.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 06:31 PM) Since we decided to bump the old one, I thought I'd put together a new one. Fact or Fiction: 1) A White Sox starter will win 20 games (might as well leave it the same ) 2) Joe Borchard will get the last roster spot 3) Lopez will be the 2nd left handed reliever 4) Thome will hit more than 35 homers 5) Uribe will still be hitting 2nd at the All-star break 6) Javier Vazquez will win 15 games 7) Brian Anderson will hit over .260 8) Jon Garland and Jose Contreras will have ERA's under 4 (please elaborate if not) 9) Scott Podsednik will steal more than 45 bases 10) Bobby Jenks will save more than 35 games 11) Tadahito Iguchi will hit over .280 12) Jermaine Dye will play more than 145 games 13) Joe Crede will hit over .260 14) Paul Konerko will hit over 40 homeruns and drive in more than 100 again 15) The Sox will improve their team ERA (3.61) 16) The Sox will make a trade for a major league player at the deadline 17) The Sox will finish in the top 5 in the AL in runs scored 18) Jermaine Dye will drive in 90 runs 19) The Sox will win the AL Central (this one better be fact ) 20) The Sox will return to the World Series 1) Fiction. I think Buehrle is the closest with 17 or 18 wins. 2) fact 3) fact 4) fact, although I think it will be closer than you guys seem to think. I think he'll start off a little slow and finish in the mid-30's. 5) fact, although I expected more dissenters on this one. 6) fact. I actually think he's going to finish with the second highest total on the team, with about 16. I've got the other guys being a little more inconsistent and finishing at 15 tops. 7) fiction. I don't think it's too likely in his first year. 8) fiction. I think Garland finishes somewhere between 4 and 4.20, Contreras in the high 3's. 9) fiction, but barely. I think he finishes in the low 40's. 10) fiction. I think he's somewhere between 30 and 35, with a few BS's due to wildness. There also could be fewer opportunities with an improved offense. 11) fact. I think he's just a bit above .280 in his second year over here. 12) fiction. I expect one DL stint, and Ozzie will give him some rest. 13) fiction. He's just not a contact hitter. 14) fiction. I think he finishes with about 38 and 114. 15) fiction. A lot of our pitchers had exceptional seasons. The only guys I think might improve are Mark and Freddy. 16) fact. I think we get a bullpen arm, or possibly try to add a stop gap CF if things go south. 17) fact. No one really had a career year at the dish last year, and adding Thome is huge. 18) fiction. I think he's in the 80's. 19) fact, and I think we finish about 6 games in front of Cleveland. 20) fact. I just don't see anyone that can really hang with us in the AL.

Since we decided to bump the old one, I thought I'd put together a new one. Fact or Fiction: 1) A White Sox starter will win 20 games (might as well leave it the same ) 2) Joe Borchard will get the last roster spot 3) Lopez will be the 2nd left handed reliever 4) Thome will hit more than 35 homers 5) Uribe will still be hitting 2nd at the All-star break 6) Javier Vazquez will win 15 games 7) Brian Anderson will hit over .260 8) Jon Garland and Jose Contreras will have ERA's under 4 (please elaborate if not) 9) Scott Podsednik will steal more than 45 bases 10) Bobby Jenks will save more than 35 games 11) Tadahito Iguchi will hit over .280 12) Jermaine Dye will play more than 145 games 13) Joe Crede will hit over .260 14) Paul Konerko will hit over 40 homeruns and drive in more than 100 again 15) The Sox will improve their team ERA (3.61) 16) The Sox will make a trade for a major league player at the deadline 17) The Sox will finish in the top 5 in the AL in runs scored 18) Jermaine Dye will drive in 90 runs 19) The Sox will win the AL Central (this one better be fact ) 20) The Sox will return to the World Series

QUOTE(Felix @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 06:21 PM) Someone should start an '06 round of these I'll throw one together right now. Give me about 5 minutes.

QUOTE(rangercal @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 06:09 PM) Calm Down GRANDSLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not quite yet, they're still down. Although I'm feeling a little better now. Maybe with a few roster changes it wouldn't be quite this bad.

I gotta rant about the pitching on the US team. Not only about a couple of guys that made the team, but also how you're using them. First off, the alignment of the pitchers. Why would you use Roger Clemens in a gimme game against South Africa instead of in a game where there is at least some threat like Mexico or Canada? That doesn't make much sense to me. Secondly, why would you use Leiter and Majewski in a game where you are trying to minimize the damage? If I were managing, those two wouldn't be taking the mound unless we were up at least 4 runs or up at least 4 runs. I guess Majewski fits that criteria, but I still don't like using him there. Secondly, why are those two guys even on the roster? I know they were replacements, but did everyone that can actually pitch turn them down? Where are Roy Oswalt, Roy Halladay, Andy Pettitte, and Mark Mulder? Where's Jon Garland, Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, and John Lackey? What about some youngsters like Dan Haren or Scott Kazmir? What about some other relievers like Jason Isringhausen and B.J. Ryan. Hell, if you're going to take a left-handed Met, where's Tom Glavine? If you're going to take an old man, what about Greg Maddux? The outfielders mystify me a bit too. We couldn't find any corner outfielders? We gotta play Vernon Wells in RF, Johnny Damon in left, and Matt Holiday and Jeff Francoer on the roster? Where are Adam Dunn, Aubrey Huff, Patt Burrell, or Lance Berkman? Or how about Grady Sizemore? I know a couple of guys opted out like Buerhle, Hudson, Sabathia, Wagner and Bonds, but you've got to be able to do better than those two scrubs and that outfield. Anyways, end of rant. I'm just somewhat upset about those choices now that they're coming back to haunt us. Give some credit to Canada, they're hitting well, and the US couldn't touch Adam Loewen.

What's the tie-breaker if there is a 3-way tie? That could be important for the US. Unless the unthinkable happens and they don't turn this game around and follow it with a loss to South Africa, the US would be 2-1. IF Mexico then beat Canada, that would leave those 3 countries in a 3-way tie. It's academic if Canada beats Mexico too, but what if that doesn't happen? Anyone know?

The game is getting worse for the US. They're down 5-0 now. Dontrelle left down 3-0 with runners on first and second. Leiter came in and walked the first batter and followed that up with a single. Needless to say neither has pitched well.

I'm hoping he can somehow spin Gload (or Ozuna, whichever is on his way out) into either a high minor league lefty reliever or a low level lefty prospect with a high ceiling. I suppose a AA or AAA guy that fits that description would be nice, but I don't think Kenny can work that much magic.

QUOTE(rangercal @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 04:43 PM) That Cuban 2nd baseman has really impressed me. What a catch to end the 9th. I'm pretty sure that was Gourriel, their star that typically plays 3B. To answer Cheat's question, he's 21, and I'm not sure about his aquatic efficiency.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 04:43 PM) I know that's not what I'm saying. How they hell do you triple 3 times in 2 innings, that's just bizarre. They showed highlights of two of them, and they were both misplayed by Vernon Wells. The first one was a short liner that went over his glove on an attempt at a sliding catch, and another was a hit in the gap that was just over his glove that he would normally take a better route on and catch. Let's just say the Jays shouldn't move him to right any time soon.

Right after I say that, ND hits 3 three pointers. Georgetown responded with 2 of their own though.

Luckily Georgetown has started playing some monster defense and now have a 5 point lead. They started clamping down on the perimeter shot and ND can't score.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 02:09 PM) I'm hoping gtown beats the s*** out of ND here just cause I hate Digger. Not looking that way so far. 16-6 Irish. Colin Falls has 3 three pointers already and got fouled shooting another, while the Hoyas can't hit anything. They shoot way too many 3's for a team as big as they are. I can't believe how much they look like Northwestern right now. The only difference is that Georgetown can actually get some offensive rebounds.