illinilaw08

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 3, 2013 -> 07:53 AM) The key for my evaluation of Groce will be next year. If they get back into the tournament and win a game, give the guy a key to the University for another 10 years. If they go sub .500 start scouting around for another coach. If they hover around the bubble area, that's about what I expect. Should the bolded have been in green? I think this year's Purdue team is probably a pretty good comparison to next year's Illini. You only have 5 scholarship players returning. The incoming class, while good, appears to lack any kind of instant impact talent (the kids will all play, but they have significant work to do to reach their potential). Not a lot of shooters on the roster (Henry is the best of the returning players). It will take a monumental leap from Abrams, Egwu and Henry to contend for the tournament next year. Groce exceeded all expectations in Year 1. I haven't been this excited to follow recruiting since Self was at Illinois (remember that Self missed on a bunch of high profile guys, but just like with Groce, Illinois was on so many top 50 players' lists back then). If Illinois is struggling to make the tournament by the time '15 or '16 rolls around, you start looking, but to say that Groce's tenure at Illinois depends on a team with 5 freshman and 1 senior, I just don't get that statement.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 26, 2013 -> 10:51 PM) How good was Omar Gonzalez tonight? Oh my. This times a million. I think the US has found a first choice centerback. Also need to give credit to Demarcus Beasley. Playing seriously out of position and being picked on from start to finish by Mexico, he played his heart out. Wasn't great by any stretch, but he did ok under really difficult circumstances. Looking forward to seeing an improved attack during the next set of qualifiers in June. The most frustrating thing about the JK era is the complete lack of anything resembling a scoring chance in most games.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 12:18 PM) Starbucks maybe less so now (who did they displace though? and they still don't treat their employees well), but Chipotle and especially Whole Foods are niche markets (no idea about their labor relations but they have other social positives). Chipotle is never, ever going to displace significantly cheaper options like McDonalds or BK and Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck!) is never going to replace a majority of grocery stores. Either because people can't afford them ($8.99/lb organic chicken vs. a box of frozen Tyson for $9) for the most part or because the short-term (trying to be value-neutral there) benefits of much cheaper food/things are instantly realized and understood while the long-term harm of the destruction of domestic manufacturing, wage stagnation, etc. aren't right in your face as you pay for your groceries. Sort of an aside, but this is the same type of problem with advocating upper-class solutions to many environmental, ethical or economic problems. I buy organic, free-range chicken and eggs because I like the free-range part (and the chicken is substantially better quality), but it's never going to compete on a large scale with Tyson or Purdue. The forces that exist in the market will pretty much assure that. It's all very cyclical, with people not being able to pay higher prices at a store to support higher wages because their owns wages are low. Absolutely wages and benefits exist because the labor market demands them, but it's an asymmetric market and labor's been losing power for decades now. I know that Walmart might not be around forever, but I see no reason to assume that they'll be pushed aside by social justice forces that completely remake global capitalism into something that doesn't function solely on the seeking of more profits. I thought Starbucks generally did treat their employees well with health insurance and other benefits for part time employees. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bes...apshots/73.html But you are spot on that one's respective economic status allows one to make different economic decisions. I can afford not to shop at Walmart so I don't (I shop at the local Kroger which has a good track record of employing adults with special needs). Something that baffles me is that we have 24 hour news cycles that talk about inane, ridiculous crap. Have an hour show that highlights both corporate responsibility and provides negative press to the ones that treat employees like crap. I'd watch that. And make economic decisions based on it.

QUOTE (Rex Hudler @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 01:54 PM) You hit the nail on the head. I stated as much earlier, just not as well. The head coach recruits the right players and by that I mean talent and mentality. Crean has stated he looks for winners and when he recruits AAU games and how players play in AAU games that may not mean much or when the score isn't close weighs in on their decisions. The head coach sets the culture of work hard and improve or you don't play. The head coach gives the players the tools to improve their game, which includes but is not limited to assistant coaches who have the ability to teach. Calbert Cheaney can't coach on the floor, but do you not think he has influence on players as they watch film together? Do you know think players are going to listen to him? One on one instruction time with the head coach is not frequent. Yes, there is instruction during practice, but most of that is verbal and brief as they work on plays. If the head coach does all of that, and the players do the work, he gets credit for developing his players. If the players don't do the work or he has recruited players without much room for improvement, then he gets the label of not developing players. Recruiting and player development go hand in hand, along with setting the right culture for a program. The point I disagree with here is that Crean is any different than any other coach in this regard (and maybe that wasn't your intention), or that Crean is somehow doing it differently than other coaches. Every coach in the country recruits and offers guys that they think are going to be good college players. Every coach in the country misses on guys. Maybe those guys don't put in the time. Maybe those guys didn't develop the way the coach thought they might. Every coach is recruiting "winners." Every coach is also recruiting talent. Sometimes the talent doesn't pan out (see Jereme Richmond), sometimes it does. Sometimes you have a special player or group that put in the time and get better. Sometimes you don't. Frankly, the guy in college basketball who is the best in the business right now at "developing talent" is Calipari. If your kid is a 5 star recruit, send them to Calipari and see them get drafted in the first round the next year (even this year, Noel, Poythress, Goodwin and Cauley-Stein are showing up in first round mocks). EDIT: The best a coach can do is try to create the right culture and bring talent into that culture. Crean did an excellent job with this group at Indiana, but it is WAY too early in his tenure to say whether or not he will have the same success with different players (see Weber, Bruce).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 07:01 PM) How much basketball coaching is allowed by the NCAA during the offseason. I think improving is up to the player. THIS. Lots of sweeping generalities from both sides in this thread. Certain guys are self-motivated and will put in the extra time to get better (Victor Oladipo at Indiana, Deron Williams at Illinois comes to mind). Deron and Luther Head made Bruce Weber a great player development guy... until he wasn't. I'm sure Crean helped Wade when Wade was at Marquette, but it isn't like Crean was working with Wade every offseason as he became the player that willed the Heat to the '06 Finals (or Weber with Deron to make him an Olympian). Likewise, I'm sure Crean has helped Oladipo, but it's Oladipo that's making the decision to stay in the gym late and put in the extra hours to improve as a player. The impact of a college coach on player development generally is seriously overstated.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 10, 2013 -> 08:41 PM) Agreed that it wasn't an intentional foul. It just gets tricky because he's behind the ball and had zero chance of getting the ball. Most hard fouls for contested layups/dunks at least have a chance at getting the ball as well as man. Still, you can't call it an intentional foul. If that's an intentional foul than IU committed four in the last minute. Wouldn't have had a problem with that call going either way. Yeah, he made a play on the ball, but there aren't many plays more dangerous than shoving a guy in the back from directly behind on a breakaway. I would love to see college basketball adopt the Clear Path rule from the NBA for situations like this one. Congratulations need to go out to Indiana, however. They had a couple very, very tough wins on the road (Michigan State and Michigan in particular) where they easily could have folded down the stretch. They earned the B1G title this year.

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Mar 3, 2013 -> 10:22 AM) I think this is precisely why Crean backed off. I thought for sure he'd be committed to Izzo by now. http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/2013...linois_mak.html Henricksen with an article today lobbying for Alexander to pick Illinois. Here's hoping Cliff Alexander reads the Sun Times....

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Mar 4, 2013 -> 11:02 AM) Doesn't the committee make every effort to separate teams from the same conference until the sweet 16? I wouldn't see us as the 8/9 against Indiana considering they'll likely be the only #1 seed from the Big Ten. Wasn't clear in my initial post. I meant avoiding the 8/9 game in the Big Ten Tournament. You are correct that the committee tries to prevent teams in the same conference from meeting before the Sweet 16.

QUOTE (Rex Hudler @ Mar 3, 2013 -> 09:26 PM) Yes, but the bubble really sucks this year. It is worse. Lunardi went so far as to comment on ESPN Radio last night that he is rooting for conference tournament upsets (which makes it harder for him to be right) because right now he is putting teams into the field by default. When asked how Tennessee is now in after losing to Georgia, he couldn't give an answer. I get the sense he flipped a coin or something close to that. The SEC is terrible this year. I mean, really terrible. They barely deserve 2 teams and one could argue their lack of road wins makes their resume very shaky. But neutral site wins over VCU and Illinois will be enough to get them in, the seeding will take care of the rest. Tennessee is still a possibility with a couple of wins this week, including a home win over Missouri. Iowa's problem is to get in they are going to have to beat Indiana in the B1G quarterfinals Friday morning. I just don't see that happening at this point. They might not even beat Purdue Thursday (assuming that is how the seeds finalize). I think Iowa probably needs 4 more wins to get in the tournament. Beat Illinois and Nebraska should make them the 7 seed (tiebreaker over Illinois by virtue of one head to head). Beat Northwestern or Nebraska Thursday and then whoever is the two seed on Friday and that might do it with a very weak bubble. Hopfully Illinois wins on Tuesday and avoids the 8/9 game. I want no part of playing Indiana again this year...

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 02:33 PM) That is a good step. The problem is obviously the guy who gets injured, but can still play badly. So its possible that a guy who gets signed as a UDFA and then cut on week 1 cant claim under the policy. But if they start doing things like that, then there are less concerns for the players. Thats really the goal here (at least for me) to give these guys a better chance at life. I agree with this. I've had an idea recently that there should be "basketball" or "football" majors available at D-1 universities. Teach coaching strategies, tie it in with Kineseology (how the body works, nutrition, that kind of thing). Kids don't have to major in those areas if they are on scholarship, but it might help a kid who doesn't want to be in school get something out of the experience...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 02:31 PM) But the schools and others making billions of dollars off of their play couldn't possibly pay for those policies, that'd ruin the sanctity of the game. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/coll...base/54955804/1 Database of Revenue, Expenses, and Subsidies for all athletic departments. The schools themselves may be making millions, but they have pretty high expenses as well. Not much profit at a lot of schools...

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 02:17 PM) And the other part that is being lost, is that its more about having a legitimate justification. At least in the NFL they are saying its for the safety of the players, most of those guys are staying in college 3+ years. That is a legitimate time commitment. That being said, I do think there should be at minimum some sort of insurance for college athletes in case of injury. That isnt just exclusive basketball or football. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--even--5m...-223714245.html Yahoo actually discussed the insurance policies the NCAA allows athletes to purchase. To sum up, low cost policies that range from coverage of $1M to $5M depending on what tier of athlete they project toward. Athletes are allowed to borrow to take out the policy.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 11, 2013 -> 01:02 PM) How is Gonzaga ranked so high? And they got 2 first place votes? WTF? They're good, but who have the beaten? OK St? Kansas St? The best two teams on their schedule (Illinois, Butler) were losses. I don't really see how Ohio State is still in the top 15 (or top 25 really) either. Who have they beaten? I mean, I get after about the top ten the next 20 teams are about the same, but still. Edit: Forgot they beat Michigan and Wisconsin at home. But that's about it. I mean, they haven't lost to anyone terrible either, but I wouldn't consider them a 3-4 seed at this point. Hard to punish Ohio State for a week where they took Michigan to OT in Ann Arbor, and lost to Indiana at home. Big week ahead for the Illini. The roadmap to the tournament is (1) hold serve at home the rest of the way (Purdue, Penn State, Nebraska) and (2) win 1 of 4 on the road (Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan, Ohio State). Purdue and @ Northwestern this week. Finally, I was looking at Iowa's schedule today. They only play Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, and Michigan State once each. With their schedule, how many B1G wins does Iowa need to get into the tournament? If they have 10 wins in conference and Illinois and Minnesota both have 8, do all 3 get in?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 8, 2013 -> 09:40 AM) I thought IU played good ball till the last 2 min where they looked tentative and their shots didn't fall. As soon as the whistles went away they wilted. An IU fan co-worker of mine (working in Indy, most of them are) was putting a positive spin on the game last night that I thought was interesting. Crean can point to this game going forward as Exhibit A for what happens when you get complacent late in a game which could certainly pay dividends in March. The first 37 minutes don't matter if you don't close. Giddy still from last night. 4-4 the rest of the way, plus one win in the Conference Tournament, I think solidly puts Illinois in given the quality of some of their wins. Hopefully they come out with the same energy and intensity this weekend @Minnesota.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 6, 2013 -> 03:57 PM) From that article, exactly what i'm talking about: You don't think this stuff - lack of good personal finance skills and ability to think long term - feeds into the other problems listed in that article? Of course it is. But there are two issues that feed off of that: 1) How do you get people to think long term? How do you get people motivated to seek out investment vehicles when it's 30 years down the road (especially if not employer sponsored)? I have long advocated personal finance classes as a high school and college pre-req. 2) What about people that just don't make enough to put money aside for retirement? SS and Balta are correct that at $50k with a family of 4, even if you are saving for retirement, you aren't saving enough. At some point, those people will be out of the workforce, either due to being too expensive or due to health issues.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/10/15/17-...nt-savings-in-/ Relevant to the discussion going on. There's clearly a problem brewing. Both my grandfathers worked in the private sector. Both had pensions that enabled them to retire early. My parents were teachers. They have pensions that have enabled them to retire early. Pensions don't really exist in the private sector any more (that I am aware of anyway), so people need to invest in the market. But no one is forcing them to invest. They weren't educated in finance, and they aren't thinking about 30 years down the road. I don't know what the solution to this problem is, but the stats above show that this hits a LOT of people and it could become a big problem sooner rather than later.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Feb 5, 2013 -> 08:31 AM) He and Gonzalez both should be cap tied in this game I would think. I would be surprised to see Gonzalez get a cap on Wednesday. I assume the starting pairing is still Cameron-Boca in the center. Experimenting with Cameron-Gonzalez or Gonzalez-Boca in Honduras would be... an aggressive way to start qualifying. Now that Gonzalez is getting called in, I don't think there is much risk of Mexico stealing him (knock on wood). Chandler will certainly get the start without Cherundolo healthy though.

QUOTE (God Loves The Infantry @ Feb 4, 2013 -> 11:15 PM) Compared to the the decent gun owners like myself, AD and Jenksb****, the bad gun owners are rare. I crunched some statistics last night and it comes out to roughly 280 of us for every one of them (I'm talking about violent criminals, not idiots who put holes in their own hat bills). But would you say crime is rare? I don't know how to better explain that paradox there. There are a lot of good gun owners for every whacko (armed or unarmed, I might add), but that whacko still exists. And I've said time and time again that my guns are a defense against unlikely situation, and not ones that lurk around every corner. I still don't want to be unprepared should that situation arise. And this doesn't even get into what I think is the real reason for 2A, which has already been discussed here. I may be in the minority here, but it's the "idiots who put holes in their own hat bills" that concern me the most. There is no good way to eliminate gun violence without severely limiting the Second Amendment. And as long as there is a large supply of weapons legally available, people who wish to obtain a weapon for nefarious purposes will be able to get their hands on them (legally or otherwise). If I were in a position to enact legislation, my legislation would be to create a competency requirement to get licensed to own a firearm, nationwide. Not everyone grew up around firearms. Not everyone treats firearms with the respect that they deserve. The other issue I have with the gun control debate is the use of the term "criminal." Most people are law abiding citizens... until they decide to do something stupid. You don't find out who is the "criminal" until after something like Sandy Hook happens. Note that I don't have a problem with people owing guns. I think there is certainly utility to the responsible use of that tool. But I think that, like driving a car, there should be a competency requirement for use of that tool.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 28, 2013 -> 08:00 PM) When you say the US one, do you mean the one on CBS? This one is a BBC show. Each season is 3 episodes (1.5Hr's long). They have done two seasons so far and you can stream for free through prime if you are a prime member. I watch the US one and it doesn't even come close to the BBC show. One of my favorite shows of all time (wish there were more episodes). It is so well done, imo. Love Sherlock. My understanding is that they are doing one more 3 episode season. Then they run out of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's source material. Each episode is an adaptation of one of the stories. I've heard the CBS show isn't bad, but I have also heard that it is closer to a show like House than to Sherlock Holmes. Thoughts on that? I do know that CBS reached out to the BBC to remake Sherlock for an American audience and were told to pound sand...

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jan 25, 2013 -> 03:28 PM) Have any guys on here ever tried yoga? I lift and run a couple times per week, but I'm debating about whether to give this a try. I think the increased flexibility would aid in preventing injuries as I get ready to train for a Fall marathon, and although I think I would feel ridiculous chanting, I'm intrigued by the stress relief its supposed to bring. Just started a weekly Yoga class for men (read runners who lack flexibility). There hasn't been any chanting, but it is difficult and then super relaxing at the end. I'm sticking with it.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 18, 2013 -> 11:23 AM) Groce has to be accountable for failing to coach these guys the game of basketball though. I'm sorry, but teams run the ball screen offense and when it's not working and the shots aren't falling, they call a set play. They try to do something to change momentum. I can't believe that a team talented enough to win big games earlier this year lacks the talent or drive to be able to run offensive plays. I just got the sense last night he was letting them play. That was what we heard about all pre-season - my system is to let players be loose and play their game. Well, that's great when you have a conference where everyone runs up and down like in the playground, but in the Big Ten teams play set basketball. They don't rely on one-on-one plays. Michigan runs offensive plays. Indiana runs offensive plays. They purposefully find guys in a variety of ways to get good shots. I'd be less disappointed if they were showing an ability to play organized basketball but simply not hitting shots. That happens. This team is doing neither at the moment and I don't see how they can win 7 or 8 more games playing like this. I get the sense that Groce would love to have a big guy that he could park on the block and run sets for when you need a basket. He doesn't have that guy on this roster. The problem since the Minnesota game is simple. There are two guys on this roster who have been able to make shots in that stretch. Tracy and Paul (and neither of them have been particuarly consistent about it). McClaurin is a non-factor. Egwu is in foul trouble most of the time. Henry/Shaw/Langford haven't shown any ability to score. Griffey and DJ can't hit water falling off a pier right now. Bertrand hasn't even tried to assert himself. If you only have two threats offensively, there isn't a set in the world you could run to score points. I'm not absolving Groce, but the difference between the preseason and now is that Griffey was shooting like 60% from 3 and DJ was shooting like 40% from 3. If those guys can't make shots, and there isn't a shotmaker on the bench, you see games like last night. If they lose at Nebraska next week, this team will win about 5 games in the B1G.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jan 15, 2013 -> 07:13 PM) We accept the fact that there will be illegal gun ownership in this country. We'll never eradicate it, people who really want guns (particularly those looking to commit crimes) will get guns. The worst strategy is to punish non-criminals who want firearms by forcing them through more bureaucracy, fees and other ATF/state government bulls***. It makes no sense, pile more laws on against people who will follow them while the intended targets of the laws keep ignoring them. But I guess were hooked on ban culture. I actually agree with some of this post. There are always going to be illegal firearms (though there are certainly things that can done to help cut down on those). But what scares me as much as illegal firearms are people who own guns and don't know how to use them. People like to make the comparison of guns to cars. For the moment, let's assume this is an apt comparison. Yes, people can illegally drive a car, and plenty of people do that. But to legally drive a car, you have to complete a certain number of hours behind the wheel and a class. Would you oppose that kind of requirement to purchase a gun?

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Jan 14, 2013 -> 03:39 PM) I expect around 2k. Probably will use some of it on a little trip. Vegas or New Orleans most likely. Got married this year and expect I'm going to be hit with the Marriage Penalty in the first year filing jointly.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jan 14, 2013 -> 12:12 PM) how dare you question Obama. HOW DARE YOU. it's different now. Well, to be fair, it's much easier to rationalize a symbolic vote against raising the debt limit when you know it will overwhelmingly pass than when a no vote might actually cause the limit to not be raised. So from that standpoint, yes, it is different. The problem with all of this is that the deficit hawks haven't made any real substantive proposals (that I am aware of) to reduce the deficit (and most of them were happy to ignore the growing debt when their party was in power).

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 11, 2013 -> 01:10 PM) Is it societies fault that parents are s***ty? That kids are stuck in s***ty homes? Injustice is when the game is rigged without giving you any sort of opportunity to play. That's not our society. It may be more difficult to play, but everyone has the same opportunity if they take it. I'm not sure how we can "change society" unless we're willing to hold people accountable for their actions. Bailing them out and paying them off isn't changing behavior for future generations. I don't know that social injustice is necessarily the right term, but there are certainly people that have a better opportunity to succeed than do others. The opportunity to succeed is definitely different depending on where you come from. In Indianapolis, in 2009, the public high schools graduated around 48% of the kids that entered high school. At the private schools, those numbers are noticeably higher. I would wager that the numbers are similarly skewed between CPS and a school like New Trier. That's not saying that kids can't find their way, but the margin for error is much smaller from a disadvantaged background (and I think this cuts across economic levels rather than race - I could as easily be talking about a school in a poor rural area as IPS). Parents don't value education, parents might work multiple jobs to try to make ends meet, etc. I'm not sure that social injustice is the right term because I think that does create a connotation that people are victims, but there is certainly an uneven playing field in terms of opportunity for a 16 year old kid whose parents make less than $30k and the parents who are comfortably middle class.