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Perhaps creative option as in deferred salaries? Whatever it takes Rick!

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 11:43 AM) I love Jo. His loss sucks, but it also creates new opportunity for Taj & Portis. I hope they do well with that and I wish Jo the best in his speedy recovery. I don't know whether his time in Chicago is done or not, in fact, who knows, the injury might mean its more likely he is back in Chicago a year from now. All I know is one thing...I don't know that I was ever so annoyed at a draft pick than when the Bulls took Jo and years later I look back and I think about how I love Jo. I respect how he went about his business on the court and how he was a constant pro (yes he had his issues when he was young, but he was never afraid to learn from his mistakes). Guy always left it all out on the court and off the court he's done a ton of good for the community, etc. Love you Jo!!! After all, my son's middle name is Noah for a reason The Notebook was a pretty good movie! Noah is a warrior and his energy and passion was what drew the crowd into the game often times. That, along with Rose's brilliance made the Bulls a must watch team for 3-4 years. Even though we never got past Lebron, I'll always remember those Lebron vs Noah matchups late in games where Noah stayed on Lebron like a pit bull and lets Lebron have it after. Sadly those days are gone, and perhaps end of a chapter in the Bulls history book.

After Bray got super Cena'd the Wyatts just hangs around for the past couple of years. But I think Bray deserves the title push he has yet to get. He will be one of the best heels in the company as the champ, certainly better than Sheamus and Rollins.

Is there any hope that Bray wins on Sunday? He'd be a much better heel as a champ than Rollins was.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 10:16 AM) Yeah probably. I'm higher on Brennan probably. They protected him and if he moves to relief he's going to come quickly. And I am almost positive that the other missing from your list is Cruz. He had a pretty good year for a 19 year old first year in the states.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 16, 2016 -> 10:54 PM) Jermichael Finley? I guess he could qualify as one, but he could got hurt quite a bit IIRC. But again, if he's the best tight end Rodgers has played with, than the point still stands.

I truly believes that if Rodgers got to play with more skilled players, he would have won multiple SB's. The best receiver he's played with is probably Jordy Nelson, and best running back would be Lacy or Ryan Grant, and he never really had a pass catching tight end (it's partly the system he plays in), but gosh, that isn't an impressive list at all.

Larry Fitz! The old Buick still got some zips

Ball was punched at the end, but inconclusive evidence that it actually hit the ground.

BTW, if I were to rank them. Tier 1 (in no particular order) Curry, Durant Lebron Tier 2 Davis Leonard Westbrook Tier 3 Butler George Griffin Harden Paul Tier 4 Wall Draymond Green Klay Aldridge Mar Gasol Tier 5 Carmelo Cousins Drummond Lillard Kyrie Lowry ETC.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 15, 2016 -> 08:11 AM) Ok, so let's talk about Jimmy Butler. For whatever reason, he's not being recognized as the complete stud he is. I'm actually trying to come up with the reasons that both the national and local media aren't talking about Jimmy Butler enough. Here's my best attempt to explain. - DERRICK ROSE: A huge majority of Chicago still wants him to be the man. So anything Butler does is just looked at as "sidekick" work for when Rose comes back to being great. The national media cannot get past the downfall of Rose and would rather use that storyline than the rise of Jimmy Butler - JOAKIM NOAH: Just watch the highlights in the clip a few posts above to see what I'm about to talk about - Jo doesn't want Jimmy to be the man. Jo's bench role coupled with the downfall of Derrick is killing him. See how the entire bench goes bananas for Butler all game and Jo stands there, stoic, expressionless, with the rage building inside of him. He misses the glory days of his "little brother", the youngest MVP in league history, and his playing 40+ minutes per game. He does not want a changing of the guard. - THE NBA F*CKED UP: Jimmy Butler went at the end of the first round. He is now a top 5 NBA player. There, I said it, Jimmy Butler is a top 5 NBA player. The NBA, the talking heads, and all the experts will never see Jimmy as a guy performing at or above other guys taken in the top 10 of the NBA Draft year in and year out. The Top 5 are: 1. LeBron James 2. Kevin Durant 3. Steph Curry (I don't want to hear it) 4. Kawhi Leonard 5. Jimmy Butler I also don't want to hear about AD until he actually factors in W/L's, and I don't want to hear about Russell Westbrook because he's a sidekick who shoots a low percentage. - USAGE RATE: Jimmy Butler's usage rate falls well below the above studs mostly because when Derrick's on the floor, he hogs the ball. A man of his talents should NOT be 41st in the East in usage rate. But he has a f***ing BALL HOG on his roster who his spineless coach runs the offense through when he decides to actually suit up. Derrick's usage rate is 31st in the NBA. Derrick Rose: 250th in PER, 31st in Usage Rate Jimmy Butler: 17th in PER, 41st in Usage Rate Makes a ton of sense, right? Nope. Players with a higher usage rate than Jimmy freaking Butler include: Dennis Schroder, Reggie Jackson, Isaiah Thomas, DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Rose, Marreese Speights, Emmannuel Mudiay, Zack LaVine, Brandon Knight, Jeff Teague, Alec Burks, Markieff Morris, Nikola Vucevic, Trey Burke... need I go on? The only guy on the PER list above Jimmy with a lower usage rate is a center who can't handle the ball (Hassan Whiteside) whose PER is boosted by 4+ blocks per game. So, in summary, as long as Derrick's worthless ass is on this roster, Jimmy won't get the usage or respect he truly deserves as a superstar in this league. Oh, and Fred Hoiberg is a dunce. I agree with point number 1, but strongly disagree with the 3rd point. Remember Gilbert Arenas? He was one of the biggest stars in the league 10 years ago. I don't think the NBA purposely limits the market potential of its players, especially a players from a market like the Bulls. The issue is like you mention, Rose was the man here for so long, and also Jimmy just isn't the flashiest player, doesn't produce ridiculous stat lines until recently, nor does he make the most headlines off the court. I also think team success has a lot to do with. All 4 players you mentioned have lead their teams to the finals, and have won MVP's or Finals MVP's. Jimmy is definitely viewed as one of the best players in the league to the hardcore fans, but without playing on the biggest stage, the flashy highlights and stats, making headlines off the court, and having to share the spotlight with Rose limits Jimmy's exposure to the casual fans. I think his star is trending upward though, and with the big explosions like the one in Philly, he should quickly have the attention of even the casual observers.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 07:57 AM) Yes many times including some clown named Joecoolman24. Yep, was probably banned because his obsession with Andy Wilkins was getting a little unhealthy.

Yep, this one is a lot worse than the one they missed in 1999. Was hoping Seattle gets sent home early, but now it gives them another week to get healthy. I think they now the team to beat in NFC IMO.

Gase gone. Not too happy about this.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 7, 2016 -> 10:02 PM) speaking of... KINGS LAKERS CATCH THE FEVER As I looked at the calendar, I couldn't believe it's been 15 years since those classic Lakers Kings games on NBA on NBC.

QUOTE (spiderman @ Jan 7, 2016 -> 07:00 PM) Wasn't this guy supposedly have to work out for teams? Now he gets a 3 year, 31 million deal? I do like Span, but I was expecting a 1 year deal for 6-8 million a season. Guess I was way off. Makes me wonder if we'll end up seeing much of a discount, if any, for some of the remaining free agents if teams are bidding against themselves. He was injured at the end of last season, so he was probably working out to prove he's healthy to the interested teams. The guy is still a very good player when healthy. He tallied up 10.8 fWAR in the 3 previous seasons leading up to 2015. His defense has slipped a bit because of age, and it might be time to move him to the corner OF. But I see value in a 3 year contract with $10M AAV.

Hmm sounds the E could use some of the magic of the Sox's training staff?? Main roster talent has definitely slimmed down. I hope now they really push the second tier guys like Dolph, Ambrose, Owens and Neville. I think WM still has promises if they bring back Brock to feud with Reigns. Perhaps an Attitude Era match and Rock and HHH would draw some appeal.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 7, 2016 -> 02:03 PM) Fun fact: He's played in one major league game...for the Tigers. He replaced....wait for it....Yoenis Cespedes. Another fun fact, this guy has a career OPS higher than Cespedes, Gordon, and Upton. Genius move by Hahn.

QUOTE (CyAcosta41 @ Jan 7, 2016 -> 06:35 AM) I'm certain you're raising this for argument's sake rather than believing his 2015 ISO stops any serious consideration of Markakis as Plan B (or C, D, or E). How about adding these to the brew: * Advanced professional hitter for nearly a decade * Continuing ability to be a left-handed stick * Regularly among OF leaders in OBP * Low-ish strikeouts, plus has a clue about situational hitting * Been a doubles-machine many years of his career * Last year's power numbers (first year in the NL) "MAY" be a total outlier * IS a RF * Passes the eye-test as a good defender (understand that the somewhat controversial advanced defensive metrics are mixed) * $11M AAV for the next 3 years is likely solid value for his likely WAR (likely to age fairly well given his body type) * Cool name Seriously, I can't believe I'm appearing to be an advocate for bringing in 2016 version Nick Markakis. There are all sorts of possible moves I hope we hit on before I go to Plan Whatever. That said, for some of the reasons set forth above and more, he is absolutely a solid incremental addition worth considering if we need to. It's about fit for a particular team. Brute thumping isn't the only gauge of any player, plus what tools can a possible acquisition bring to a team that a certain team might otherwise have in short supply? A football team in need of OL help doesn't forego a prospective lineman because he can't run a sub 5.0 40. I wouldn't go near Markakis unless Braves eat up a good chunk of his salary, and by good chunk I mean one third of it, and I don't think that's happening. His value mostly came from his plate discipline and defense when he was with the Orioles. But after an offseason neck surgery last season where he had a disc inserted into his neck, he has lost a lot of arm strength as a fielder, and it is industry believe that his arm won't come back. I think the surgery is also part of the cause for his decline in power numbers as well. If you get him, you're only getting a 1.5 WAR ish player who's on the decline. It's still an upgrade over Avi, but I wouldn't want to invest 3 years on him.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 06:49 PM) Is Felix referring to Felix Mercedes? Sorry, Feliz. Maiker Feliz. Wouldn't mind if Felix Mercedes becomes an interesting name to follow though.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 06:52 PM) Styles, Anderson, Gallows, and Nakamura and one other apparently going to WWE. you suck!! you suck !! you suck!!?? Nah.. just a pipe dream, but would love to see Styles in a WWE ring though.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 11:59 AM) Micah was still eligible as a prospect, barely. Same with Thompson. Yep, thanks for correcting. Strange that they use AB as a criteria instead of PA, so Trayce just fell under the 130 AB rule. Micah was also sent down before the 45 days window in May, so he still qualifies.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 01:39 PM) There's a crowd of interesting LatAm guys who, at least for me, are currently in the 20-40 range in the system - but with potential for much higher if things pan out. Guys like Amado Nunez, Fernando Tatis Jr, Franklin Reyes, Yosmer Solorzano, Johan Cruz and Maiker Feliz are all guys who will be in or close to the 15-30 range in our deeper list coming out soon. Add that to Adolfo, and that's a pretty nice talent pool. Doesn't even include some other guys lower down but also with potential, like Carlos Perez. This is what I mean when I say the "back end" of the list is filling in nicely. Johan Cruz is a guy who may even be in the mid-teens in the system. Cruz, Feliz, Perez, 3 of my favorite guys to follow in the system. It's highly likely that one of the 3 would crack our top 10 next season. Cruz has the highest potential if he moves back to SS and lives up to the reputation of being a strong defender at that spot. I would also add Ramon Beltre to the list, kid just turned 19 and could be moving Stateside this coming season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 09:39 AM) Would Tracye and Micah have still qualified? Both played in Chicago a lot last year. I pointed out Trayce wouldn't have qualified, but forgot Micah did spend a good couple of months with the big league team at the start of last year. Don't blame me that he wasn't that impressionable when he played ha.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 09:27 AM) I appreciate John Danks more than most, but there is virtually no chance he is on the 2017 roster. While, yes, his rank as a qualified pitcher has left a lot to be desired, if you look at teams' 5th starter position, they use a lot of non qualified guys. I doubt many teams get much more out of their #5 starter than the White Sox. But even if he is better than he is been, he would become a 5 and 10 guy in 2017, giving him full trade protection. The White Sox save that for guys like Buehrle and Konerko and Fisk, not Johnny Danks. He's a goner unless he wants to pitch for total reclamation project money on a 1 year deal. Don't be shocked to see Danks move up at the 4th starter a couple months into the season. I am not sold on Erik Johnson, and not sure if we would add anyone to the rotation before season starts. If he performs well as a 4th starter, I wouldn't mind giving him a 2/$25M deal as a stop gap to the guys we have down in the minor. But he'd be taking a hometown discount in that scenario, which I know isn't too likely.