betterREDthandead

SI (via Yahoo) gives the weak links on each team as spring training approaches: Weakest links I'll quote the AL Central teams, with a lead-in: I love it. The Tigers have gone from being a complete afterthought to being the best put-together team in the league. There's only one thing putting a damper on the excitement of the upcoming season: The idea that Extra Innings will likely be available on DirecTV. That SUCKS. Selig can kiss my ass if that goes down. Also, here's the list of non-roster invitees to spring training, as it stands now. Actually I'm only gonna list the interesting ones: Craig Dingman Joey Eischen (remember him??? Tigers traded Chad Curtis for him and another pitcher back in 1996) Felix Heredia Jair Jurrjens Bobby Seay Dennis Tankersley Ryan Rayburn Cameron Maybin (CAN'T WAIT to see how he looks against the big leaguers)

Speaking of which, does anybody have the Ernie Harwell Audio Scrapbook? I got it for Christmas, and I've just started listening to it. One of the best Christmas gifts EVAR.

Weird: Virginia played a game today. Michigan played a game today. Virginia was on the road. Michigan was on the road. Virginia was in a state capital (Raleigh). Michigan was in a state capital (Madison). Virginia played a team whose colors are red and white (NC State). Michigan played a team whose colors are red and white (Wisconsin). Virginia is now 4-2 in the conference. Michigan is now 4-2 in the conference. Virginia's final score was 71-58. Michigan's final score was 71-58. The only difference is that Michigan lost and UVA won :D :D

I was just finishing up my freshman year of high school too. Had a Boy Scouts camping trip that weekend of Game 4 that couldn't be moved, so I did not get to watch the game. This is how I can always remember the game was on a Saturday. The folks at the campground tried to set up a TV, but it couldn't be done, so my fellow campers and I grabbed a radio and gathered around a picnic bench. Pretty much everyone else at the campground either had a portable radio or a car radio going too. When the first goal was scored we grabbed brooms, held the radio up above our heads like some kind of trophy and marched around the campground and started cheering with everyone else. Same thing when the game was over.

I like Qwest Field a HELL of a lot better than the NotADome in Dallas. WTF is up with that stupid hole in the roof??? I would have loved for Ford Field not to be a dome.....but then again, Detroit wouldn't have gotten the Super Bowl that way. So I'm torn. I do love watching games in the snow.

Bears have a defense but no offense. Colts have an offense and a respectable defense. I think the Colts win this one.

So far both my teams look exactly the same in conference play: Racked up a few wins by beating the crappy teams. Michigan's knocked off Purdue, Penn State, Northwestern, and Illinois, all of which suck. UVA's beaten the ACC's bottom three: NC State, Maryland, and today, Wake Forest (40 points from J.R. Reynolds ). Then again, we've been competitive on the road against two of the better teams in the conference, Boston College and UNC. Could have won either game. So hopefully we're getting better and better. I think both Michigan and UVA make the tourney this year.

After watching the Tigers win two straight playoff series at home and share the celebration with the fans? I don't.

Colts-Bears. How bout those Midwestern teams. Good for the Colts! Now I'd like to see them take the final step and have Manning shed that can't-win label once and for all. He and the Colts deserve it. Even though the Jerome Bettis storyline was cool last year, this would have been a perfect Super Bowl for Detroit. Sting must be just about ready to bounce through the roof right now.

I think I'd rather be 6-12 against Cornell than 3-4-1 against the Detroit Athletic Club

1. Take away all those wins, and Michigan still has about 150 more wins than MSU. 2. It's true that Michigan State has not padded its win total against Lake Forest College of Illinois. This is not for lack of trying, however 3. I don't think Michigan has played Albion 17 times. They don't show up nearly that often on the site I looked at. (d1afootball.com) It also shows no losses to Albion. Michigan State, however......let's just say that even if Michigan did lose to Albion at some point, at least we have scored points in every game against them. Unlike our rivals from East Lansing.

Who are you to declare he needs to get his head out of his ass? Maybe he happens to like college. Question about that article: How is Meech above Quincey, if Meech is projected to be no better than a 5th d-man and Quincey a 4th-6th d-man, and how is Quincey above Ericsson if Ericsson is projected to be a top-four? Prospect lists don't usually take into account how close they are to the bigs. If Ericsson projects higher than Quincey and Meech, he should be above them. And by the way, I can't wait for Ericsson to get here. My favorite prospect, at this point. Though I think it's interesting that Nill thinks Kindl has a shot at making the big club during next year's camp. That'd be fun.

Only difference is I don't think Ozzie is dreamy I remember some Vernie chants. But Osgood is the man. I don't think I've ever seen a goalie as mentally tough as Ozzie. In fact I always thought he was at his best right after letting in a goal in a road game with the fans taunting him. He always bounces back.

I'm joking about the first rounders. However, you do understand that Holland would be a laughingstock among GMs for trading Williams and Lilja for just Lapointe, right? If for some reason the Hawks were to ask for those two, they had better at least offer to throw in man-mountain defenseman Dustin Byfuglien.

Instead of team planes and buses, the Colts should have arrived in Baltimore in moving vans. That would have really frosted the Baltimore faithful

I think this'll be a good thing. The two knocks on Webber are his health and the notion that he can't be the main guy to take a team to a championship. Neither of which are a problem right now - this is Billups' team, and Webber's supposedly healthy right now. Related deal: The Pistons, according to ESPN, are likely to send Nazr Mohammed to the T-Wolves for Marko Jaric. Mohammed isn't happy about losing minutes.

I'll be pulling for the Colts and Saints, though it wouldn't bother me if the Bears won. The Pats.....eh, I like the Pats well enough, they're definitely not on my very long Do Not Like list, but it's time for the Colts.

Umm. NO. Are you serious? Williams and Lilja for Lapointe? I assume we're getting draft picks in return....like, five years worth of first rounders to make it even for us?

I don't think Kenny has ever not been looking to get a "star player" at the deadline. He doesn't always actually get one, but Kenny is never on his couch come deadline time. As for Lapointe, if anyone expects him to be a cog in the offense, that's wishful thinking. He cashed in on one pretty good year to go to Boston, had one decent year for them, and hasn't been seen on the scoring charts since 2002. Lapointe is nothing more than another body to muck in the corners, which I'm not saying we don't need, but then, what does he bring that Draper doesn't?

You didn't like the Stones last year? Or Paul McCartney the year before that? I think Prince is probably a step down. I think this is a pretty good year. None of the teams I don't like are left. I do like the Bears and Saints, always have.....and I usually pull for the Colts, it'd be nice to see them win one after coming close all this time. Was definitely rooting for them today, as I like them and do not like the Ravens. As of now, the worst-case scenario Super Bowl would be Pats-Seahawks, and given that it could have been Ravens-Cowboys, that's not bad at all.

Yes. And the other thing is, big bucks is the only thing that would draw international soccer stars to the US. That and the novelty of it. Beckham could have had his pick of any club in the world - he won't play anywhere in England but for Man U., from what I've read, and having done Real Madrid he could now go for Juventus or AC Milan or Bayern Munich or any other prestigious team in Europe. (If I can name a European soccer team off the top of my head, which is rare, it's probably a pretty high-profile club that a guy like Beckham might go to.) The glitz of LA, the novelty of MLS, and the big bucks (especially the big bucks) is what brought Beckham here. It wouldn't surprise me at all if someone else came up with that kind of money for Ronaldo or some other BIG name.

Beckham is gonna make $50 million a year. YOWZA. That is unreal. 'Course, you had to know he'd end up in LA. What, the world's most recognizable, self-proclaimed-glamorous, married-to-Posh-Spice soccer player was gonna head to Columbus, Ohio? Nowhere but LA. I really do hope this gives a boost to USA soccer though. MLS needs to be strong for USA Soccer to be strong. And I still want an MLS team in Detroit. They could call it Detroit City, after the MLS naming convention of blatantly ripping off names of famous teams overseas (D.C. United, Real Salt Lake, etc.)

Considering I picked Philly to go the Super Bowl......yes

I'm horribly, horribly biased on this, because Schaub was our star quarterback at UVA for most of the time I was there. But he's definitely got the mental makeup to succeed. No question there. Schaub was always at his best in big games. His arm isn't wow-the-scouts strong, but he's very accurate, and I believe he's got that quarterback "It" that all good QBs have. Moxie, winning ways, whatever you want to call it, some QBs got it and some QBs don't, and it's entirely separate from physical talent. Trent Dilfer's a big gumpy slow white guy with a noodle arm, but he's got "It", and he's a QB I'd take on my team any day. Michael Vick's got all the physical talent but completely missing "It". Schaub's got it, and he's wasting away on the Falcons' bench as an overpaid clipboard stand.

Rex. Grossman. Worst quarterback in the playoffs. I also would love to see the Giants eliminated early. What terrific poetic justice for Eli Manning to watch the Chargers go to the Super Bowl from his couch. Tiki Barber is the only reason I would have to root for the G-men.