Still nothing from the Braves, but then I didn’t expect anything. Here’s a video:
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Still nothing from the Braves, but then I didn’t expect anything. Here’s a video:
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
I’mmmmmmm wwaaaaaaaaiiiittttttiiinggggggg.
It’s snowing right now during the MNF game…I can’t wait till it snows here. Whenever the locals hear me say that they freak out. I guess it’s because I lived in the south for so long, I love it when it snows.
What gets me is that it’s snowing in Seattle, not Green Bay.
I thought the game was in Green Bay when I first turned it on….dont recall a whole lot of snow when I was in Seattle area…
Something happened? I think it’s quite early yet .
Alrihgt, this is an open thread. I like all kinds of music, but that videos which you pick up aren’t my taste. I’m sorry.
I don’t think Britney has a powerful voice and outstanding singing ability although her voice sounds like sexy. Just think she can make good use of her voice. If the problem occur, Mac, you can delete videos.
same song different feeling 1
same song different feeling 2
Dellucci to the Indians, 3 year/11.5 mil
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6211856
Re: #119 on the last thread.
Both David O’Brien and Mark Bowman, both of whom said Glavine’s return to Atlanta was highly unlikely, have both changed their tunes today.
Although Bowman cited his mom as a main source in his change of tune…
That DOB blog about Glavine’s possible ATL return is pretty interesting. Count me on the side that hopes it happens—as long as it doesn’t ruin the team, of course.
Every time I see that Police video I almost wet my pants laughing. Even though I kinda liked The Police when they were around (saw ’em twice, had most of their albums), it reminds me of what a pompous goofball Sting always was.
Hey, Seattle won by 10—I covered the 9.5 points. Yippee.
Odds:
Rich Rodriguez – 40%
Jim Grobe – 25%
David Cutcliffe – 25%
Chan Gailey – 10%
Larry Coker – 0%
Been lurking here for a while… figured it was about time to post. Do you guys think theres any truth to the Manny rumors going around this time? With the market going as it is perhaps these teams are thinking 19 million or so isn’t so bad for a guy with power like Ramirez. There seems to be tons of rumors flying.
Please leave Chan Gailey in Atlanta. He’s my all-time favorite Tech coach.
Considering what Adam Eaton is getting, Hudson’s contract might actually become a fair market price even after considering Huddy’s disappointment in the last two seasons with the Braves.
I used to think this was the coolest music video ever when I was 13.
Now that I’m 36, I still think this is the coolest music video ever.
I miss The Police.
I just want to say this about the BSC championship game and then I will leave it alone. USC deserves the spot ahead of Michigan but NOT, I repeat NOT, because of USC’s recent beat down of Notre Dame. Anyone who say’s so is not thinking. A home win by 20 against ND is not better than a 26 point road win against ND. Sorry but it’s not. Mich was up 34-7 and 40-17 in that game before garbage time.
USC deserves it on the strength of the rest of its wins, which are superior to any other 1 loss teams’. Michigan has the strongest win and most excusable loss, but the rest of their body of work is unimpressive. USC has played only one bad team (Stanford) and even though their loss was by far the least excusable of any of the relevant one loss teams’ the BSC standings are based on who you beat, not who beat you.
I’ll leave it with that and let you guys argue about Florida to your hearts content (they’re 4th best)
I agree that USC has played a real schedule and that people should respect it. That said, both Michigan and Notre Dame have benefited from kind media and are probably overated. Michigan could barely beat Ball State at home. Talk about winning ugly! Do you think any of these pundits who worried about the way that Florida beat South Carolina of FSU (I agree with Rob Cope from a few days past: for Florida to beat FSU on the road is a big deal as rivalry games usually are. For what it is worth if USC beats a weak UCLA it is still a serious game) worried for a moment about it? Instead, all they could to was blather about the matchup with Ohio Sate.
With respect to Notre Dame, who did they beat? In years past they played a strong schedule, but this year? Yet, there was Mr. Buck on Fox saying that even if Notre Dame loses to USC they are still ” in the race for the national championship” . What a joke.
Even though I do not think that this a a great Florida team (look at their kicking game), they were going to be shafted when they lost to Auburn. For an SEC team to have any chance at playing for a national championship, they must be undefeated.
Surely not. Under “Manny on the move”:
A Cubs source e-mailed that Chicago has offered Matt Murton, Bob Howry, Sean Gallagher and Donald Veal, and that Felix Pie hasn’t come up. That sounds like not quite enough, but if the Red Sox trade Manny, then turn around and sign J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo, the need for impact-quality major-league talent (say, Michael Young) is lessened. The same source indicates that the Mets and Braves are also interested.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com
Y’know, something on the previous thread caught my eye – the notion of Gwynn’s slam dunk candidacy for the HOF. He would have to be the lowest ranked offensive contributor in some time elected (non-pitchers, smarties). A guy who did really only one thing well (albeit very well) – hit singles. Never the best player (or even close) in the game. Not a difference maker in my opinion, It seems to me he fails the Keltner test pretty easily for induction. Thoughts?
Spike–that is interesting; I would love to see the analysis because without thinking about it I also assumed that he was a Slam Dunk–which I am sure he will be. There is nothing like winning batting titles, though players like Bill Madlock won several, but were soon forgotten….
Sorry to change the subject- but Spike where in Yokohama are you located? I use to live in Sagamihara, near Zama.
I am in Shin-Yokohama, but will be blissfully returning to my ancestral urbam mansion in Ormewood Park Thursday. It’s been an eye opener though. I went to Reppongi Saturday and wasn’t sure if I’d entered the Sevnth Circle or Seventh Heaven.
You know, after comparing Gwyyn’s stats to the unelected (Rice Murphy) and the recently elected (Murray, Brett) I’m a dumbass. He’s in. Not inner circle in, nd I find his career HR and SLG% untidy, but he was a better overall hitter than many who are recently (10 yrs or so) in, and a better quality defender than I remembered to boot.
My Odds:
Jim Grobe 25%
Bobby Petrino 25%
Jeff Tedford 15%
Paul Johnson 10%
Joe Kines 10%
Steve Spurrier 10%
Rich Rodriguez 3%
David Cutcliffe 2%
What is it with the Shula boys? I guess they didn’t inherit their father’s coaching genes.
guess not, but I dont feel sorry for him. Mike will get $63,000.00 per month for the next 62 months from the University, unless he becomes employed elsewhere.
Glavine decision could come today.
Glavine decision could come today.
CSG,
I don’t feel sorry for them either. And it really says something that a state university in a state with one of the worst educational systems in the United States is going to be paying a football coach $63,000 a month to not coach. That’s probably more than most teachers in the state make in a year. But this is the SEC where football is more important than anything else.
@#16 –
I wonder if that means that we are interested in Manny, or interested in maybe trading Andruw for the same package?
Cubs potential batting order
Soriano
DeRosa
Lee
Manny
Aramis
Jones
Barrett
Izturis
pretty strong, now after $350 million they just need the pitching to help them win.
I really, really, really want Manny Ramirez. Can I have him?
Sure you can have Manny all you want, if you can come up with the prospects, and the 2O mil per.
I just read that Craig Counsell and the Padres have agreed to a preliminary deal. So much for the Giles-Linebrink deal…
good, another trade we missed out on
some rumors from today different sources…
– Rumors surfaced yesterday that Alabama, which fired Coach Mike Shula, was interested in speaking with Coach Frank Beamer about its opening. Alabama also flirted with Beamer in 2003, when it hired Shula. Virginia Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver said Alabama Athletic Director Mal Moore had not contacted him about Beamer, which would be normal protocol. Weaver, unprompted, also brought up and shot down a rumor that Beamer met with an Alabama official Sunday, saying he was with Beamer personally for much of the day.
– South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was seen playing golf yesterday in Tuscaloosa, according to Ben Maller moles in Alabama. The old ball coach had said he wasn’t interested in the Crimson Tide job last week. Spurrier was spotted at the private North River Yacht Club by a reader to this web site.
– West Virginiaās Rich Rodriguez, Louisvilleās Bobby Petrino and Navyās Paul Johnson have produced the kind of results Alabama director of athletics Hal Moore is looking for with three completely different versions of wide-open offenses. Another candidate of note is Jim Grobe, who has taken Wake Forest to a 10-2 record and No. 16 national ranking in his sixth season
– Steve Spurrier, the āOlā Ball Coachā who took Florida to the 1996 national title, is about to complete his second season at South Carolina. Amid rampant rumors that Alabama had reached a multi-million dollar agreement with Spurrier, he released a statement Monday while recruiting in the state of Florida. āI have no intention of leaving South Carolina,ā Spurrierās statement said. āItās always flattering when a South Carolina coach is rumored for these big-time programs. This one will die down in two or three days, too.ā Spurrierās salary at South Carolina is reportedly about $1.2 million per year
Sorry, I would post Braves rumors here, but there are 0. You can say that Glavine will make his decision by this friday, but is that really a rumor. Seriously though, what is JS doing right now. Does he just wait until the meetings to try and do something? He cant be spending that much time trying to figure out what to offer Darryl Ward and seeing if he wants Reitsma or Thomson back! I dont have a clue
Totally
In
Denial
Everyday
Spurrier was not in Tuscaloosa. There were rumors all over the place but it’s clear that he was in fact in Florida on a recruiting trip.
Moore also tried to hire Beamer in 2001, or whenever it was they actually wound up with Franchione. Beamer is 60 now and I think the time for bringing him in has passed, even if he would leave Blacksburg which I seriously doubt.
If any of the big name rumors have substance, it is probably Rich Rodriguez. Another possibility not mentioned is Dom Capers, which strikes me as a very bad idea indeed but I’ve heard whispers.
Wryn, I’m not in denial. I dont think we’ll land a big time coach. Here’s my opinion…
Here’s what we got, I’m a huge fan, but unlike many others I’m
realistic. First and foremost, we treated Mike Shula like a piece of
crap and that doesnt bode well for us. Just look at Saban’s comments
from yesterday and keep in mind other coaches probably have noticed
this also. Mal Moore has to step down immediately, this man cant make a crucial decision.
Now on to the candidates. Spurrier, Saban, Beamer, Rodriguez, and
Schiano dont have any interest in this job and its understandable to
why they dont. From Mal Moore, “we want a proven head coach that’s won a National Title.” Well that’s great and all, but has there ever been a head coach win National Titles at two different schools? NO! so the odds of that happening are not very good. Also, if we get one of these big time head coaches listed above, who’s to say that they will stay more than 4 or 5 years. We need someone with passion that’s a good recruiter and someone who has proven they can win on a big stage. Also, we need someone that we can lock up for the next 10 years, I dont think Spurrier will do that and that man has a huge ego problem. Dont get me wrong I would love to have him, but realistically its not going to happen.
JIm Grobe and Jeff Tedford are two of the best coaches in the Nation (and both are very underrated), and they can help us get back to competing at an elite level. Bobby Petrino is also someone we can get that doesnt have that National Championship tag on him. Will they get us a National Championship, maybe or maybe not, but they can get us in position to compete for an SEC Championship on a regular basis. Also, lets just think about how hard it is to win a National Championship out of the SEC, the focus needs to be our conference championship and then maybe other things can fall into place. As for Butch Davis, yes he would be great, but we waited to long and I dont think he’s available.
First and Foremost, someone other than Mal Moore needs to be doing
this search and making the crucial decision for us. I’ll be very surprised to see if we make a good decision.
Can anyone confirm….
http://bama.ua.edu/~willi348/
That appears to be someone’s personal webside on the UA server, CSG, and a prank.
yep, its fake. They could at least learn how to spell
USC deserves it on the strength of the rest of its wins, which are superior to any other 1 loss teamsā. Michigan has the strongest win and most excusable loss, but the rest of their body of work is unimpressive.
To me, USC vs Florida is the easy call. SOS easily favors USC as do the style points. The BCS computers are not allowed to consider margin of victory so all they have left is your record and who you played. Since USC and Florida’s records are essentially the same, it’s all SOS. All six computers have USC ahead of Florida. Six for six. That’s not ESPN’s fault, or close wins, or some conspiracy, it’s Central Florida, Southern Miss, and Western Carolina. See Auburn, 2004. The Gators technically have a chance to grab some style points against Arkansas, but their fate was probably sealed with an uninspired win over a FSU team that was rolled at home by Wake Forest.
USC vs Michigan is real, real, close. The BCS computers are 3-3. The voters have waffled. Michigan has the “better” loss by far. USC has played 10 bowl teams, Michigan seven. It’s really splitting hairs at this point. Voters currently don’t seem to want a rematch, so SC gets the nod.
I hope nobody is seriously pinning their hopes Karl Dorrell and the gutty little Bruins. No chance.
Hasn’t Larry Coker won a (mythical)national championship?
http://www.theauburner.com/mark_psa.html
Okay, that’s funny to us Aubies.
Yes he has Johnny. I really think Coker would be a good fit for Tuscaloosa and Shula a good fit for Miami. Nobody else seems to.
while making stupid comments, I have one. Shula to Auburn as new head coach, Coker to Auburn as offensive coordinator, Tubby to Miami, and Petrino to Alabama
Orioles got Bradford and Williamson…
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2678427
I wish we could have offered Williamson that contract, 1 yr $900K w/ some incentives
My aren’t we touchy here at csgjournal?
Williamson’s contract seems very reasonable and would’ve enabled us to focus on shift Giles for a leadoff hitter.
johnny, i’ve been here for a while and most people should know that I’m just kidding. I like people getting fired up, its what I do.
Did Robert really just say that USC had a tougher schedule than Florida? Wow, and I thought I was a homer. They must give USC grads special water or something. My goodness! I know the win over Notre Dame was huge (sarcasm…), but Washington, Washington State, Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford? Powerhouses! Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, FSU, even Kentucky and South Carolina… nah those guys can’t play. Oregon State would wipe the floor with them! Oh wait… only USC. By the way, the same Oregon State that beat USC also lost to Boise State, Cal, Washington State, and UCLA.
Ububba’s right. Only a playoff system will suffice. That will close the lips of USC fans…
Did Robert really just say that USC had a tougher schedule than Florida? Wow, and I thought I was a homer. They must give USC grads special water or something. My goodness!
Whatever Rob. Florida is behind USC in all the computers for a reason, and SOS is the reason. You need to stop drinking the SEC kool aid.
Wow, I just noticed you listed Kentucky and Florida State as tough opponents. Thanks, that was good for a laugh. I didn’t know Urban Meyer had time to post on this board.
Any reasonable football fan who gripes about an SEC team’s out-of-conference schedule is willfully ignoring its tougher-than-anybody in-conference schedule.
One more time: Top-to-bottom, from year to year, the SEC has the best athletes of any football conference in America.
Why? Here’s one big reason: They currently have more players on NFL rosters than any other conference, a full 30 more than the Big 10 alone. I mean, NFL scouts couldn’t possibly know anything about talent, could they?
That has nothing to do with the fact that USC or Ohio State have excellent teams. They just don’t play in conferences as tough as the SEC. I’m not sure why that’s even an arguable point.
I’d say faulty programming is the reason Florida’s SOS is considered weaker than USC’s.
In other news, has anyone else heard the rumor involving Crede and Garcia to the Halos for Figgins and Santana? I heard it from the ESPN Radio update guy a few minutes ago, but I haven’t seen it anywhere.
That trade would make it a lock — if it wasn’t already — that we’ll be hanging on to Andruw, I’d say.
ububba,
If that argument is aimed at Robert, it’s falling on deaf ears. To him, the 4 games a team plays out of its conference are way, way more important than the 8 games it plays in-conference. And he tends to side with the computers, which, as everyone knows, give us nothing but Gospel truth.
here is something to look at
Click to access ia_9games_cumm.pdf
Stu,
I hear you. As we all know, “Gospel truth” can a relative (or programable) notion.
This is great. First Jason Shiell’s wife, now this:
http://tinyurl.com/yarh98
At least he has a sense of humor.
And he tends to side with the computers, which, as everyone knows, give us nothing but Gospel truth.
What they are is objective which no one here is, including myself. They don’t get carried away thinking that Alabama or Georgia is a good win just because it says Alabama or Georgia on the front of the uniform.
Say it with me: Objectivity is good, homerism is bad.
And just because their record is 10-1 doesn’t mean that Rutgers could win half their games vs. Florida’s schedule. But the computer ranks them higher than many of those teams—silly.
No, first B. B. Abbott, then Schuerholz’s reference to you in his book, then Jason Shiell’s wife, now that.
here is something to look at
Indeed there are many ways to compute SOS, and this is undoubtly the simplist, summing your opponents W-L record without regard to whom they played to compile it.
This method is roughly equivalent to using batting average to determine a player’s value. This calculation doesn’t play into the BCS, but it has made a nice talking point for UF fans.
Aside: I feel your pain here Gator fan, USC has had it’s run-ins with the BCS as well, like in ’03 where were consensus #1 and didn’t get an invite to the title game(you want an outrage, that’s an outrage). Our OOC slate was a respecable Auburn-BYU-Hawaii-Notre Dame that year, unfortuanately they all decided to suck so the computers torpedoed us. The BCS system gives and it takes away.
Well I think I just won a $20 bet. One of my friends just offered a friendly wager. He thinks Spurrier will be the next head coach at Tusca. and I think I just got half a tank of gas
SOS is crap-o-rama. The BCS is crap-o-rama. The “national title” is crap-o-rama.
Until we get some kind of real playoff, it’s like awarding the Indianapolis Colts the Super Bowl trophy for accumulating the best record each year.
#67 – agree, why do we let computers tell us who the best teams are. Let it happen on the field
On the other hand, does anyone think the Steelers or Cardinals were the best teams in the NFL/MLB last year? Playoffs aren’t perfect either, though I’d prefer it to the current system. Between Southern Cal and Florida how either team can definitively say they are more deserving.
Jim Vatcher–that’s awesome!
I can’t wait till being a regular on this site boosts me to supercelebrity. Then I’ll date all the women that Wilmer Valderrama casts aside.
On the gripping hand, the Jim Vatcher incident is the coolest and most interesting thing involving the Braves in a long time. C’mon Tommy! Make up your mind!
I think Tommy has made up his mind, I think he wants to play in Atlanta over New York. It’s just up to JS to make an offer.
BTW,
Does anyone know why JS doesn’t want to give Tommy G a no trade clause???
Hmmm
http://www.newsday.com/sports/printedition/ny-spmets284993578nov28,0,153142.story?coll=ny-sports-print
same reason why Smoltz, Maddux, Chipper, and Andruw didnt get one
The Steelers went into Indy & beat the Colts. They went into Denver & beat the Broncos. They beat the best team in the NFC on a neutral field. As long as you deserve your ticket to the playoff dance, I don’t know any better way to prove that you deserve a championship than to beat all the other good teams (like the NCAA basketball tournament).
The Cardinals…well, I’ve never like the 8-team, Wild-Card Era baseball playoff format anyway. I still believe it’s a flawed system that rewards too much mediocity (or, let’s say, teams that are certainly less than excellent). In my view, some teams just don’t deserve a ticket to the dance. But I’ll never begrudge the Cards for going out and winning—plus they beat the Mets, so…
At #65
Measuring who they beat? Like, in the the last post, where I outlined that teams that USC have beat have beat 5 teams in the top 25, and lost to a team that beat 1(them), whereas Florida has beaten teams that beat 7 teams in the top 25, and lost to a team that beat 2 (them and LSU)
latest news from the Braves and JS….
I’ve got nothing
On the other hand, does anyone think the Steelers or Cardinals were the best teams in the NFL/MLB last year? Playoffs arenāt perfect either, though Iād prefer it to the current system.
Yeah, and this is why I can’t get both feet on the playoff bandwagon.
1)The best team wouldn’t necessarily win anyway, it would be a crapshoot like all other playoffs.
2)It would devalue the regular season and that’s one of CFB biggest draws is that every Saturday really, really matters. I mean I was crushed after the Oregon State game, basically it looked like season over, it’s unlikely I would have cared as much with a playoff safety net in place.
There is a lot to dislike about the system but one thing I do like is that SOS makes like a tiebreaker which should encourage teams to schedule better. Ohio State and USC have a home and home coming up soon which probably wouldn’t have happened if there weren’t pressure on each AD to put a strong SOS number out there. Unfortunately there are still teams like Auburn out there still doing the three cupcake, eight home game, complain like crazy scheme.
Schuerholz doesn’t give anyone a no-trade clause. He has traded for some players that already had one in their contract that he had to honor, but he doesn’t give them to anyone. Personally, I think it’s a good practice. Sure, it makes some people mad, but if I were him I would do the same thing.
csg, I was being funny too. But Coker might be the only guy that may take the Bama job.
If Spurrier stays at South Carolina ( we natives call it USC) I would have to think that its just for the challenge. I mean the Gamecock’s program has to lead the nation in football futility. Ok maybe not lead the nation but at least the Vandy’s of the world have their academic reputation.
The funny thing about the Glavine ‘decision’ is that the Braves may not even be interested.
Andruw is a Brave for all of 2007. Easy prediction. He stays a Brave for 4 more years with a heavily back loaded contract. not so easy prediction.
Why do they do that? Back load contracts? One of you economists out there please explain that one to me.
From CNNsi:
Cubs offer $45M to righty Schmidt
Do the Cubs have a stake in the Colombian drug cartel? where do they get all this $$$?
Okay, this is getting weird now:
http://tinyurl.com/y77fll
The difference between Carolina and a school like Vandy is that Carolina tries really, really hard to be a big football school – 70,000 per home game, spare no expense to get a coach, but they still can’t make the leap. I think the problem is that Clemson tries to do the same, and there isn’t enought talent in the state for two good teams.
But I don’t think Spurrier will leave. He’s paid well, he’ll be worshipped if he can win 9 games a year, good weather, close to great golfing locations, why trade that for the drama at Alabama?
Johnny, no prob. I didnt take it personal. No way Coker gets that position, I just cant believe that Moore fired Shula without having something lined up. We will get someone just because they said money is no object this time. we’ll just have to wait and see if Moore can actually make a good decision this time. I doubt it
Well I graduated w/ an Econ. degree and I dont understand it. Aging players making more money and producing less, not a good formula. Its the win now and worry about tomorrow mentality I guess.
You hit on it, AMH. What talent there is in South Carolina is really good, but there just isn’t enough of it to split between USC, Clemson, UGA, and the rest.
Mac,
That’s beyond weird.
Do we know if that was really Jason Shiell’s wife?
MLB trade rumors
Cardinals get Wells, Kennedy
The Cards finally made their first moves: they signed Adam Kennedy, brought in Kip Wells, resigned Gary Bennett, and gave Eli Marrero a minor-league deal. No monetary details, but Bernie Miklasz guesses $15M for three years, while Rosenthal thinks it’s three years for $10M.
Carpenter
Weaver
Reyes
Wainwright
and a 5th
that could be a terrible rotation
also, since the Pads are about to get Counsell (someone stated here earlier) and the Cards got Kennedy. The Giles market is getting rather slim
csg I was just kidding again.
AMH you’ve hit the nail on the head. USC (if you’ll pardon me) tries its ass off to be good in football and just can’t. Clemson used to be king of the ACC ( and was content to be) until FSU et al came on board. At least Clemson has a mythical national championship to its credit, sort of or discredit considering the scandal that followed the program after that. SC has a pop of about 3.5 mil. Not enough talent to support two schools with major program aspirations I agree. I was surprised when Spurrier took the job in the first place but I do think that he might like the Columbia, close to Charleston and Charlotte area better than Tuscaloosa (with apologies to anyone from there, heck I don’t know, Tusca might be paradise). The reduced expectations angle is the best one. 8 wins at USC and you’re a hero, 8 wins at UA and you’re a sack. Watch him take the Alabama job. Geez.
A playoff wouldn’t de-value the season; it would make it more valuable to win your conference, which in turn should make you eligible for a playoff. And I guarantee you that, with this system, the interest level would remain high. Every school would draw exactly the same amount of people to their stadiums.
Look, my school (UGA) had no stake in any kind of title this past weekend, but they had 92,000 very interested people in town for the Tech game. The rivalries, traditions and interest won’t stop because of a playoff system.
College football is a great game and that’s why it’s so sad that we’re subjected to such a shrill, shrieking fraud of a title system. A playoff wouldn’t hurt the game; it would only help it.
Div 1 football has needed a playoff for years now. Look at the revenue generated by March madness. Could you imagine what a D1 football playoff would be like?
Lance the Cubs not only have a lot of money but they have shit for brains. Sorry for breaking the no cussing rule.
Ububba et al.
The reason the Division I playoff idea seems to go nowhere is obviously because the University Presidents think it will look bad on academics. Most of the games would be after the last final and before start of spring semester at most Div I schools. How do we expose the fraud of the presidents in making an issue of a non-issue?
Acually it would be better for academics to eliminate the 12th and maybe 11th regular season game, the conference championships, and then have a 16 team, 4 week sequence. That would take 31 games which basically could substitute all of the better bowl games.
from rotoworld.com…
FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal says the Brewers are close to signing Craig Counsell, clearing the way for fellow free agent Tony Graffanino to potentially join the Padres.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in today’s edition that Counsell to San Diego was pretty much a done deal. However, Rosenthal says that the Padres’ offer is now off the table and they could instead go with Graffanino as their primary second baseman. Counsell wouldn’t be looking at a lot of playing time in Milwaukee, so it’s kind of surprising that he’d head there. At-bats, more than money, seemed to be his priority this winter.
so, now the Brewers, Indians, Padres, and Cardinals all have picked up 2B for next year. So what is JS plan to free up salary room and try to improve our pitching. Now I refer back the very 1st post today from Sam!!!!
braves updates from Rotoworld, kind of depressing
http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playernews.aspx?sport=MLB&filter_teams=ATL
Div 1 football has needed a playoff for years now. Look at the revenue generated by March madness. Could you imagine what a D1 football playoff would be like?
It would make a ton of money obviously. If that’s the goal, then a playoff would do it, but to be clear the basketball tournament doesn’t do anything close to determining the best team in the game. Randomness reigns.
Look, my school (UGA) had no stake in any kind of title this past weekend, but they had 92,000 very interested people in town for the Tech game. The rivalries, traditions and interest wonāt stop because of a playoff system.
Attendance is a seperate issue. The question is do the games matter as much. An eight team playoff this year would no doubt include a LSU team that didn’t even win their own division within their own conference, yet they would be given equal chance along with undefeated teams and other conference champions. What that says is that the regular season games didn’t mean as much as we would have hoped. Any move towards the ‘wake me when the playoffs start’ mentaility is a bad one in my book.
I set up playoffs for 8 teams – champions of the 6 BCS conferences plus two wildcards. So this year, Ohio State, Southern Cal, Rutgers, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Florida and maybe Michigan and Boise State or LSU. But there’s a playoff, it won’t be long before it is expanded, so then you have Robert’s situation where a 2nd or 3rd place team from a conference wins it all.
“FOXSports.comās Ken Rosenthal says the Brewers are close to signing Craig Counsell, clearing the way for fellow free agent Tony Graffanino to potentially join the Padres.”
Well, maybe this still keeps the possibility the Padres will want Giles.
But the Reds are considered the most likely persuer of Giles now. What do they got? No Scott Linebrink.
At least in a playoff you have to beat the team that beat the best team, or the team that beat that team, etc. You can’t just beat nobody.
The verity of the playoff system depends on how it’s set up. Personally, I wouldn’t allow non-conf. champs, but AMH’s system isn’t unreasonable.
And randomness does not reign in in the NCAA tournament. The powerhouse teams almost always win. Just look at the past 30 years. You can count the “lucky teams” on one hand.
@100
Georgia Tech was damn lucky in 2004. š
So where is the Glavine news…
More bad news for Miami sports….
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/ncaa/11/28/bc.bkc.policeshooting.m.ap/index.html
Just look at the past 30 years. You can count the ālucky teamsā on one hand.
If you say so. Last year’s champ didn’t win their division within their own conference. I guess they did win the conference tournament for what that’s worth. You must have big hands.
Florida won the SEC tournament, so they were the conference champ. Can’t call them lucky. Plus, they kicked ass like few other teams in the national tournament. Nothing lucky about how they played. Nobody can reasonably argue that they didn’t deserve to be a high seed in the tournament.
I’ll define “lucky teams” as at-large teams that just made the cut, teams that could’ve (& perhaps should’ve) been left out of the tournament altogether. Off the top of my head, those teams are:
1985: Villanova
1988: Kansas
I’m sure the 1983 NC State team comes to mind, but they were the ACC tournament champs that year.
@104
I think he’s talking about basketball
Nobody can reasonably argue that they didnāt deserve to be a high seed in the tournament.
True. They were a three seed, meaning they were considered around the 10th best team or so going in. It would be equivalent to Notre Dame getting hot at the right time and winning a football tournament this year and being declared the best team in college football. I wouldn’t consider that a satisfactory resolution to this season.
A satisfactory resolution to any season is crowning a team that wins its last game, after running a gauntlet of legit challenges that other teams also face.
College football doesn’t do that. Not even close.
Why wouldn’t it? Imagine Notre Dame going through a college football playoff ripping apart umm… Boise State, then Florida, then OSU. Notre Dame wouldn’t deserve a national title then? That’s basically what Florida did in the NCAA Tourney.
Why wouldn’t what?
OK, here’s the homework and we can decide for ourselves if this would be legit, all factors considered, in college football. #3 Florida beat #14 South Alabama 76-50. Entry game; big woop. #3 Florida beat #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 82-60. Little bit better. #3 Florida then beats #7 Georgetown 57-53. #3 Florida then beat #1 Villanova 75-62. #3 Florida then beats #11 George Mason 73-58 (George Mason beat #1 UConn, #3 North Carolina, #7 Wichita State in their bracket), then beats #2 UCLA 59-45. That many games, where they beat the best in their bracket, then beat the best in the adjacent bracket who had beaten the best in their bracket, and then beat the best of the other half who beat the best of their bracket and then the best of the other adjacent bracket. That sounds like beating three top-10 college football teams, all factors considered. Atleast that’s what I think.
If anyone wins a college football tournament, however it’s drawn up, I will gladly crown them and consider them champs. We don’t seem to have a problem with the Super Bowl.
If Notre Dame or anyone else (8th seed, 12th seed, 16th seed, whatever) “gets hot,” God bless ’em. Win your games when they count the most. If you deserve to be in the post-season at all, you should pray that you do get hot. If you have to beat a team twice, big deal, go out and do it.
The point I’m trying to make with the basketball is that very, very rarely does an unworthy team win the whole thing. Almost never, in fact. I also tend to believe that it would be extremely difficult for an on-the-bubble football team (a 12 or 16 seed, say) to run a 3-game tournament gauntlet to the title. I’d like to see someone try, though.
Ububba, Robert said that Notre Dame winning would not be a satisfactory resolution to this season. If Notre Dame were to run a gauntlet like the one I just mentioned, heck yeah it would.
Rob,
I’m witcha.
Update.
Rodriguez, Beamer, and Petrino have denied interest in the Bama job
Alright, I’ve now become very excited about someday maybe having a football playoff. It would be sweet. Just imagine OSU beating West Virginia, then Notre Dame, then USC for the national title. They would name a road after Troy Smith in Columbus.
Speaking of which, my brother is a stand-up comedian out of Gainesville, FL, and to basically boost attendance for the comedy show that him and his friend runs, they started a petition to have some road next to UF renamed Joakim Noah Road. They got a bunch of signatures too. Of course, no one in their right mind would name a road after a college basketball player, but the “campaign” accomplished what my brother had set out to do: they now can’t fit everyone in the comedy club they used to struggle to pack out and he’s selling it and moving to LA.
Rob, who is your brother?
I hope the market for Giles shrivels up like a raisin, leaving the Braves no choice but to play him at 2B next season. Honestly, he’s better than ANY other option seemingly considered, and $5-$6MM for a 2B of his caliber is a fantastic bargain, especially in this market. Even if he leaves after 2007, he’ll certainly be a Type A Free Agent. He’s playing for a contract–why would the Braves not want him for 2007? For the money, give me Giles over Glavine if that is the decision being made.
CSG,
Your damn right Frank Beamer denied intrest in the Bama job. I would die if he left Blacksburg!
Lance,
His name is Chris Cope. He’s also known as “The Big Portion.” He’s a big guy. We look nothing alike.
Ronnie,
I definitely agree that you could make a case for Giles being a bargain. When the Mark DeRosa’s of the world are getting ridiculous deals, then you’re absolutely right; hold on to Giles. If it came down to Glavine or Giles for the same money, though, couldn’t you have to go with Glavine considering our offense was best or second best in the league last year, and we have tons of question marks in the rotation?
That’s really interesting. Giles or Glavine at this point with this payroll and this market and with this team’s needs? What do you do?
Guys I think we’ve all but lost our trade value for Giles, pretty much every team has locked up a cheaper option and unless a team is willing to move players around, we may be stuck.
I’m probably in the minority, but I’m beginning to lose faith in JS being able to improve our ballclub on a lower payroll. We havent made a major move in quite a while and I dont see him pulling it off. Maybe I’m wrong.
Jay, I’m sure he has no interest at all, but then again who takes a coach’s word for anything anymore.
I’m with you, JS has been gambling the last couple of years with those rentals/scrubs that we have been getting. Maybe his luck has just ran out.
from MLB trade rumors
Looks like the Yankees won the bidding to negotiate with Japanese lefty Kei Igawa for $25 million. It was only a matter of time before Cashman threw some money around.
However I thought it wasnt suppose to be announced until friday. This could be just another rumor
What’s funny is we are going to throw the same product out there next year and just hope for better results. Higher Prices for the same product = lower revenues
we need a big name to come in, Glavine or Manny to draw some folks to the game
If Notre Dame were to run a gauntlet like the one I just mentioned, heck yeah it would.
I’m just not a big fan of a Cardinals type of championship. I think it cheapens the whole season. When the Cards get a ring from a 83-78 season, and the Steelers get a ring as a six seed, it discounts the regular season a lot, which is the last thing I want to happen to college football.
Obviously you guys don’t mind, so there you go. I realize I’m the minority position on this one, but I absolutely love the fact that every regular season game is life and death when you have National Championship asperations.
intresting poll on Foxsports….
If your favorite team could sign one free agent, which player would you want?
A. Barry Bonds
B. Carlos Lee
C. Aramis Ramirez
D. Jason Schmidt
E. Alfonso Soriano
F. Barry Zito
I would say Ramirez but we already have a third baseman who just happens to be my favorite player, so my second choice would be….either Soriano or Zito…i guess.
I tend to side with Robert on this – I included wild card teams in my playoff scenario simply because you need 8 teams to make it work right, and also to give non-major conference teams a chance. Maybe rather than a wildcard it would be better to include the 2 highest rated non-BCS conference champions. This year, Boise State and BYU, or you could include Notre Dame in the mix (I would rather not. I don’t like them). Fun to think about while waiting for the Braves to do something interesting.
I had some news about the Braves but then I realize that it was a really bad rumor.
I would take either Soriano or Zito.
just make it 6 and give the top two seeds a bye. Make it double elimination too
Bill Shanks says there is “breaking news on Tom Glavine” and some people on some Braves’ blogs are saying that Shanks says the Braves have signed Glavine to a 1YR/6.5M contract. But that is second hand information, as Shanks has the page as “in.”
http://www.metsblog.com/blog/_archives/2006/11/28/2534708.html
Okay, it looks like the Braves just offered that. Or agreed, or something. Everyone is saying different things and I’m not a Bill Shanks insider.
Shanks is an idiot by rule, but I’m assuming he has fairly decent sources on these things.
The signs point to Glavine returning.
The comments by Mets fans in that blog are hilarious, by the way.
Man, I hope so….
I kind of trust Shanks ever since he beat everybody on the Renteria trade last offseason.
I agree that some of those comments from the Mets blog are hilarious. Talk about arrogantā¦
I can’t believe there’s even a strong possibility Glavine could be back. Especially since just a few weeks ago I was so sure there was no way he was coming back. It would be kindof neat to see him back in a Braves uniform.
In terms of a playoff, baseball is a lot different than football. The nature of the game means that the better team will often lose a short series. That’s not as true in football; the better team will usually win, so the chances of a Cardinals’ scenario in a football playoff is pretty low. Playoffs are strictly a crapshoot in baseball, but much less so in football.
The reason the presidents don’t support a playoff in football is because the power of the bowls. They don’t want to upset locals that want bowl games to bring in tourists. Once you go to a true tournament, who is going to give a damn about the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl? It’s got nothing to do with academices; if they were really concerned about that, they wouldn’t allow football teams to be playing games in the middle of the week.
Frankly, though, what is so bad about arguing about who is the champion? It used to be fun to watch the New Year’s Bowl games without feeling that if your team wasn’t number 1, it was not a successful season. I think there is too much emphasis on college sports as it is. I remember when teams thought that winning their conference was the most important thing. Who even remembers now that UGA won the SEC championship last year since they lost the Sugar Bowl? Maybe I’m an old fogey, but it’s just a game. There is already too much pressure on 18-19 year olds to satisfy the desires of old alumni.
Re: #139
In that case, why not have bowls then for all the teams left out of the tournament? A win-win all around…