When I saw this on Diamond's blog my first thought was that at least they got some cool names.

The Lakers' and Kings' Defense:

There Are No Words

Wasn't the Kings defense doing well?

3

I'd say so, but a couple of slip ups, one by Ersberg did them in early. The Forecheck was pretty good, plus for the first ten minutes, LA has plenty of great scoring chances.

Does the goaltender count as the "defense"?

The A's abruptly pulled out of the Rafael Furcal sweepstakes Friday after the free-agent shortstop rejected their four-year contract offer.

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/rosenthal_as_out_of_running_for_ss_furcal/

LA had plenty of great scoring chances.

---

Heyyyyyy kids. Here's your chance to see a meeting of two has-beens: Metallica at the Forum :)

4
I consider goaltending to be a separate entity from the defense.

5
Hmmmm, maybe we get lucky with the bad markets for Manny and Furcal.

Handzus!!

8 Only if the McCourts hands out free mansions to Furcal and Manny. As Yogi Berra would say, Massive real estate properties is just as good as money.

KingKopitar!!

Stoll!! Kings tied it!! 3-3

Wasn't Erick Threets the guy who was famous for throwing like 103 mph in the Giants farm system? About five or six years ago I think he and Bonser were supposed to be their aces of the future.

QUINCEY!!! Woot!!

13

I keep thinking about that Nathan and Bonser trade. How stacked would the Giants pitching be without that bone-headed trade?

--

Great comeback by the Kings :)

14

Quick correction: the last goal was Frolov, not Quincey.

15

And then imagine if the best player in that trade, Francisco Liriano, is able to return to form next season.

What possessed the Giants to trade three talented pitchers for A.J. Pierzynski?

Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune has the scoop on Randy Johnson's suitors. He says the Giants, Dodgers, Brewers, A's, Rangers, and Cubs have expressed interest in the 45 year-old lefty.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

9 , Zeus is still in the league??? Is he still rocking the long frizzy hair too?

18 , the Giants were coming off of a 100 win season with Old Man Benito behind the plate, how unstoppable would they be with a young(er) yet still playoff experienced catcher to replace him? And at the cost of just a few young arms, which somehow they actually do seem to have enough of...

/Sabean

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are eyeing Tigers players Jeff Larish and Matt Joyce as part of a potential Jack Wilson deal. They could get one of the two as well as a pitching prospect. The $7.85MM owed to Wilson remains an issue; it's not known how much the Bucs are willing to pick up.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

I think I'd still rather have Jack Wilson than Orlando Cabrera. When in doubt, go with the guy with his head on straight. :)

---

Let the record state that the Kings lost in a shootout, 5-4 to the Oilers.

Like the Lakers game at Indiana, this has to be the worst defensive performance of the year for the Kings. Particularly in that 3rd period. Most teams won't give up 4 goals and win.

According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs CEO Crane Kenney said today that the team's 2009 payroll exceeds $140MM. The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan said Kenney wouldn't give a payroll figure, but his sources indicated it might be in the $140-145MM range. By Wittenmyer's calculations, the Cubs have about $133MM likely to be committed to the current group.

Wow.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

If Furcal rejected the A's 4 year offer, I can't see how he'd come to the Dodgers unless he reeeeeallly wants to come back, since I don't think they're gonna offer him four, yet alone anything longer. Would he take a shorter term contract at more per year to return to LA?

I'd still rather take a chance on resigning him, since I know he can hit when healthy, than trading for Jack Wilson, or Jack Steffan or whoever.

Btw I don't know anything about DeBarr, but those other three guys the Dodgers signed are all worth taking flyers on. Seems a decent chance one of them ends up coming through. I used to like Travis Chick. But then I like Chicks.

Send me your players with their blown out discs
your raffys your big units your credes so that i may bestow upon them my millions upon millions of dollars.

Geez, can't we find some healthy guys to throw money at?

Reality is biting everyone who is not CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira.

Furcal's not going to get four years from anyone unless it's at a deep discount. Might as well come back, Raffy, help your friend Druw get his act together, pick up some money for a couple years and then see if maybe God will smile on you in 2010.

When I posted last night I wondered if the A's 4 year offer was low-apparently to low for Raffy. Wonder what the Dodgers will come up, what about a 2 or 3 year deal very similar to his Dodger contract with some incentives thrown in.

28 I say a 1 year deal for 9 million with incentives for plate appearances. 10 million if reaches 450 plate appearances; 11 million if reaches 500 plate appearances, 12 million if reaches 550 plate appearances, and 13 million if over 600 plate appearances;

Contract auto-renews each year (for 2 consecutive years) if reaches 500 plate appearances in the current season and contains same incentives each year. Team option for 4th year at 13 million or buyout at some figure to be agreed upon.

He could get $39 million for 3 years plus the buyout, and possibly $52 million for 4 years if he reaches 600 plate appearances for 3 straight years.

And if he gets injured, the Dodgers are protected as only $9 million is guaranteed (the 1st year).

This becomes a win-win for both parties if one looks at it from a fair perspective, and if in fact the market is drying up for Furcal it might be his best option.

If Ned's tactics somehow net the Dodgers Manny and Furcal after all, at the Dodgers' terms, I may have to adjust my paradigm.

Furcal declined the A's proposal, which was believed to be in the range of $35 million to $40 million

Geez, you'd think the guy had spent two of the past three seasons winning MVP awards, rather than being disabled. Wake up, buddy.

"(The As) needed some freedom to make the moves they needed to — that's fine," (Furcal's agent) Kinzer said.

What do you mean, "that's fine"...? Of course it's fine: your opinion is irrelevant.

I tell ya, some people. When Bob's done whacking Arizona fans in the face with a mallet, I'd appreciate him directing the onslaught toward some of these agents who think the world revolves around them and their clients. You'd think being complete dill-weeds would be at least as mallet-worthy as demonstrating excitement over winning...

31
It could be that Furcal was unhappy with the overall dollars. I really think that Colletti would pay him more than an average of $10 mil per. I can see us going 3/$33 with incentives and vesting options that could bring the deal to 4/$52.

I'm torn on whether I want to take the chance on Furcal or settle for the Hu alternative and spend the dollars elsewhere.

It'll be great if all these players come crawling back to Ned, as long as he recognizes his advantage and doesn't compete against himself.

Ken Levine is hosting a Balderdash-like contest on who can come up with the funniest definition for the comment verification words on his site.

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2008/12/daffy-definition-kontest.html
A little NSFW or H, depending on your situation.

My latest from Variety:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117996966.html

Furcal went to the Bay Area and checked out both teams. Oakland does not have the best facilities in the world. Maybe Furcal just doesn't want to play there unless the offer blows him away.

Here's hoping we get Furcal back on that incentive-laden one or two year contract, which will pave the way for DeJesus.

As currently constructed (with many puzzle pieces missing), I have the Dodgers as a 78+ win team. As they add pieces, I will update the puzzle. Hopefully, they can get to the high 80s win territory.
vr, Xei

As much as I like Raffy, I was already resolved to life without him. If letting Hu & DeJesus compete for SS allows us to pay for Manny & C.C. I'm all for it.

38
I like the way the market is shaping up for Manny. Beyond him, it would be nice if the Dodgers could steal Furcal back and plug 2B and 3B with Hu and Dewitt. That might be the best infield defense in the National League.

The problem is that would leave us with 2 giant gaping holes in the rotation with little money left. The only thing left after the CC/Burnett/Lowe/Sheets group are "proven veteran winners" like John Garland.

Furcal? Wilson? I'm getting whiplash. One represents an attempt toward excellence. The other a bizarre desire for mediocrity. Same with Blake. I'm fine with change if we are attempting to improve. But if we trade Hu for Wilson, I'm done with the Dodgers until Ned is ousted. It's not that I love Hu; it's that he represents the possibility of improvement. Wilson (like Blake) is the definition of average, at best. Ned (and, by proxy, McCourt) seems intent on delivering a team; not necessarily a good team. That's unacceptable.

39. Are Pettitte and or RJ still stop gap options?
vr, Xei

According to the New York Daily News, Pedro Martinez plans on playing again next year.

"I do want to play".

If I had an option of making $15M a year or not as well, I would want to play too.

According to the New York Daily News, Pedro Martinez plans on playing again next year.

"I do want to play".

At $18M a year, I would want to play too.

42.
Delete me.

41 Torre thinks Pettitte stays in NYC. Johnson maybe, but at least five other teams are interested.

The Denver Post's Woody Paige is often a dork, but sometimes he's amusing. Like today. Commenting on the odd fact that the Broncos have lost three straight games at home for as long as I can remember, and yet have won three straight pretty tough games on the road, go figure, well here's his suggestion:

>>On Saturday morning the Broncos' players should set their watches to Eastern Standard Time, say goodbye to family and friends, kiss their dogs and board a chartered flight, which would fly for three hours over Wyoming and then loop back down and land in Colorado Springs. The players and coaches would be bused to the Holiday Inn Express in Castle Rock. (They traditionally check into a local swank hotel the night before the game). The clocks in the rooms would be set two hours ahead by the motel's staff.
"Are you a brain surgeon?" someone would ask a player Sunday morning?
"No, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
On Sunday the Broncos would take buses north on I-25 and get ready, in their white road jerseys, in the visitors' locker room. When they stream onto the field (to the visitors' sideline), the fans would boo and call them names.<<

The Army football team is wearing camouflage helmets and pants.

And every player on the team is named "Duty Honor Country."

That must make it tough to recruit.

Navy is wearing its regular road uniforms with blue pants and white shirts with gold helmets.

I think I know why Navy is going to win this game.

46 I meant, "for the first time in as long as I can remember" above.

47 Also, they're quite a bit better than Army, too.

Why do I feel like it's probably tough to find enough good players for either squad over the past few years in particular? Hrm.

Actually it's "Duty. Honor. Country."

Army is using punctuation on the back.

Navy does have ugly blue and gold patches on their shoulder.

Also Navy and Air Force haven't been too bad the past few seasons. Navy is going to another bowl game this year.

I think the players should use the lessons from the game on the battlefield. Personally, I don't think Iraqi insurgents can defend against the triple option.

47 - yeah, I'm gonna go with Navy having the better players. I like the slogan on the Army jerseys, but not the uni's themselves.

pretty amazing punt by the Navy punter there.

I'm more looking forward to that traditional Marines-Coast Guard gridiron battle. Should be a classic.

51
A friend of mine graduated from the Naval Academy, and when I went to visit I got to go to the game. It should be on every sports fan's list of stuff to do once before you die. It is not the best game you will go to, but it is definitely unique and absolutely worth the trip.

The Coast Guard's red gun offense is tough to stop.

The "official" Dodger depth chart lists DeJesus (!) as 3rd string SS. He's not even on the 40-man roster yet.

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/team/depth_chart/?c_id=la

According to La Velle Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins have broken off talks with free-agent Casey Blake. Neal heard from a source that discussions ended when the Twins, who preferred a two-year deal with an option, wouldn't offer a guaranteed three-year contract.

This is hilarious, its like the fates is conspiring keeping any and all teams from signing former Dodgers.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

It'd be pretty funny that if by dumb luck Manny, Raffy, and Blake all come crawling back to LA. Somehow I don't see Lowe having the problems generating interest that the other three are having.

RIP, Sunny von Bulow

59 - wow.

Bob - do you ever listen to Jim Rome? Funniest email (at the time it was the fax contest) ever on the show was someone welcoming Rome to the Rhode Island market. I remember the guy saying that the Newport crowd would consider the show beneath them, but that invariably it would catch on with a few of the people, who'd likely finish all their calls with "War Klaus Von Bulow"

Twins out of the mix on Casey Blake.

http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/neal/2008/12/06/twins-break-off-talks-with-casey-blake/

The talks between Oakland and shortstop Rafael Furcal broke down Friday after Furcal's side rejected a multiyear offer that was essentially take it-or-leave-it from the Athletics. The market for Furcal has never really developed; if you were to draw up a list of five players who have been hurt by the economic slowdown, Furcal might be somewhere near the top of the list. The Dodgers are playing in the NL West, a division filled with teams cutting payroll -- the Padres, Rockies and D-backs -- and this has allowed L.A. to play it conservatively, as the Dodgers did earlier this week when they declined to offer Furcal arbitration. - Buster Olney

the Twins have broken off talks with free-agent Casey Blake. Neal heard from a source that discussions ended when the Twins, who preferred a two-year deal with an option, wouldn't offer a guaranteed three-year contract

Thus presenting a golden opportunity for Ned to compete with himself by automatically guaranteeing a third year.

I would only want Blake back on a new year deal. In 2009 he can start at 3b and 2010 he can be our utility player at all the corners.

That third year he is going to be useless.

If we get Casey Blake, Rafael Furcal, and Manny Ramirez back, will people be happy with that? I was under the impression people didn't want Casey Blake.

63 - totally agree, I think there's very little chance he's productive in 3 years. Conversely, i think Manny could be productive in 3 years, although there's no point giving him 3 if we don't have to.

What needs to happen is that the Dodgers needs to start signing their young talent to long term deals, such as Ethier and Kemp.

64

Depending on their contracts lengths...but for 2009, we will be sitting pretty.

66

We will control Ethier through his prime years anyways though...

Call it a hunch, but Ethier is a goner once he hits free agency. He never wanted to be a Dodger in the first place.

My brother graduated from the Naval Academy. We got to go to the Army/Navy game at the Rose Bowl. Navy had one decent NFL player that year. My brother also got to meet David Robinson when he was there. The Admiral was two grades behind my brother. Robinson was a Computer Science major.
vr, Xei

70
That was Napoleon McCallum.

69 More that he loves the Phoenix area so much. I would believe he would itch to play with the D'Backs when he hits Free Agency to stay near his home.

71. Yes it was. Navy returned the opening kickoff back for a TD, after fumbling the ball and colliding with each other.
vr, Xei

Manny likely to reject arbitration, per Rosenthal.

72
Ethier becomes a free agent in two years or three?

Without Manny, I don't want Furcal or Blake but with Manny I don't mind so much. If Coletti trys to string an offense together with Furcal and Blake and no other 3/4 type hitter the risk is too great for complete offense collapse IMO. And barring crazyness it dosen't look like our pitching will be strong enough for a 2003 type run.

-Furcal hurting but manning up and hitting about .270 with a .350 OBP....(not .357/.439)

-our corner guys inside the diamond as an average OPS'in around 800

-A solid 720 ops from 2nd base

-Jones or Pierre. Or godforbid both (on some days)

No thanks.

76. Without Manny or CC, the Dodgers would have to hope that somebody has a breakout season, there are no unexpected injuries to other key players, and that it doesn't take too many wins to win the NL West in 2009.
vr, Xei

What, no one watching the Hokies?

63 If Ned will stick to his guns and take Blake for no more than two years, okay, but I've yet to become enthusiastic about his play. He's no more than a space filler to me.

78 - the ACC really needs Miami and FSU to get back in the top 10. They also need to move this game to Charlotte.

75 I think the Dodgers control his rights for the next 4 years, so he won't hit FA until 2012.

Lowe said he was hoping that Boras could have extracted a multiyear contract from the Dodgers, who appeared in the postseason twice during the veteran's four-year stint in Los Angeles, but the only offer the club made him was for salary arbitration, which Lowe declined.

"Scott tried hard to make it work with the Dodgers, but it didn't work out," Lowe said. "People say I wanted to go back east or I wasn't happy. I really wanted to come back, but they didn't call. It's easy to turn down nothing."

The above is from the Gurnick article on MLB. If it is true why didn't the Dodgers make at least a two year offer. When I read something like this I tend to think that McCourt is far more cash strapped than we are all lead to believe.

80 Correct. Ethier, Martin, Billingsley, Loney, Kemp = all FA's after 2012 season.

What a sick free agent class!

80 - I believe Ethier is at 2.153 on time served. So at the end of the 2012 season he'll be at 6.153 making him a free agent.

Scott tried hard to make it work with the Dodgers

I doubt it. Scott asked for a lot of years and a lot of money, which is fine since that's his job. But I don't believe for one minute that Scott was offering any kind of hometown discount, in years or money.

81 - hopefully there's more to that story, or that doesn't sound positive.

Lowe never seemed happy in LA, even commented on missing the fan energy back east and so on, so now we're hearing all that was misunderstood. Hard to know what to believe, but I don't believe Boras was ready to talk reasonable contract with the Dodgers. Lowe was incredibly reliable and I'll miss that, but seems better to cut bait a little early than be stuck with someone during their downfall, which is inevitably what this next period in Lowe's career will be.

83 The price you pay for an extra half year of a player is a 4th year of arbitration I guess.

And I don't know if you can interpret this as another sign the Dodgers don't have money, rather than it just being a realization on their part that they have a lot of talented, and cheaper, young pitchers and other needs. If they had unlimited funds, sure, they might make a better play for him, but it could also be that they're being smart for once?

84

I understand that Boras wouldn't offer the Dodgers any type of Hometown discount. But accepting the Gurnick story has truth, why didn't the Dodgers at least offer Lowe a two year deal with an option on a third year. I think Lowe is not being completely honest, but am surprised he went on the record so straight forward. Would love to see some Dodger comment back.

I think its clear that this off season is a buyer's market for baseball teams, and they're looking to get the best deal possible due to the surplus of players.

35 Interesting article. I've been a Frank Langella fan ever since his excellent performance as Quilty. Funny story about how he asked everyone involved in his latest movie to refer to him as "Mr. President" on set!

84 Exactly. Boras probably told Ned Lowe would sign for 5y/$90 mil and Ned didn't bite. (I'm starting to feel a little pro-Ned vibe in here. Strange . . .)

Apparently this SEC title game is bigger then the Super Bowl per the Brando and his crew.

I'm starting to feel a little pro-Ned vibe in here

Up to this point, Ned seems to be taking the right approach. Whether that's because he's wised up all of a sudden or because the McCourts took away his allowance is unclear.

I will actually wait for stuff to happen before I start saying pro Ned stuff. That is for certain.

Ned did say the left side of the infield was his top priority and recent news does seem to suggest we may be "in the lead" for Furcal and Blake. If we do sign those two, I would think signing Manny becomes less of a possibility. I mean, we still have to sign a "top of the rotation" arm too. Whether he fits the bill or not, I'm definitely thinking Randy Johnson is high on our list

If helping our left side of the infield was so important, why would we bring back Casey Blake? : )

A little over a half hour til Kickoff, I'm getting pumped.

98
Apparently we have all kinds of trickery in store.

Seen as how we can't even run normal plays, I can't believe this will be successful.

92

I think the best Lowe does is 4 years and more likely 3. His salary will fall between 13-14million per year.

When C.C. announced that he had a strong preference to play in his home state, and in the NL where he can hit, I think McCourt/Colletti saw this as an opportunity to add the best available arm. At that point I think they decided to cut ties with Lowe & Penny, and re-commit their combined salaries toward a pursuit of Sabathia. With the poor state of the economy affecting most MLB teams and Ned's poor judgment on recent FA targets (Schmidt, Jones, et al.), I think they're being a little more cautious and letting the market come to them...at least that's what I'm hoping. If they can't snag C.C. without overpaying (is that even possible?) there'll be plenty of extra arms that they could easily grab on the cheap to fill out the rotation...then those Sabathia $$ could be re-directed toward Manny. I'm really hoping they can snag both C.C. & Manny by not over-committing to Furcal. I'm hoping DeJesus can step up and win the SS job in competition with Hu.

99 - any play that doesn't involve Craft is likely to be more successful. I'm not sure how trick plays will work though seeing as ucla doesn't really have any playmakers to run them with, what are they planning on doing really? Austin in the Wildcat?

I think UCLA is on the right track, but this won't be a series until 2010.

102
You won't be expecting a second and PUNT!

This is the best site on the planet

103 - punting is winning.

101 C.C. is the one pitcher who has an established market with the Brewers publicly making a 5 year deal of $100 million, and the Yankees making a 6 year deal of $140 million. Even if the Dodgers don't overpay C.C., it still likely to take over 20 million per year to do it.

104
Just wait until you visit the sites on Uranus...

Seems like trick plays would be more effective against a defense that isn't crazy fast.

I wonder if Dennis Dummitt is watching the game.

Seems like most plays would be more effective against a defense that isn't crazy fast.

I will be trying to keep track of UCLA's total yards. I did not bring pen and paper with me.

This will not be an obstacle.

Time to bust some condoms!!!

Do it, Norm!

Kevin Craft...just don't be Kevin Craft!

Lots of fireworks already in the ATL.

112 - the first half could be close, we'll annihilate the bruins in the 2nd half though.

A preliminary check of the USC players reveals that none of them are Rob Johnson.

It's all over for UCLA.

Sarkisian, go out in 06 style!

110- Sure, but relative to each other, I'd think straight forward plays that didn't take as long to develop would have a greater chance of accomplishing anything than trick plays where the ball spends an especially long time behind the line of scrimmage by design.

To go out in the good graces of SC fans, Sark better hang half a hundred.

Also, I'm not sure the game counts if Keith Jackson isn't calling the play by play.

John Hale being injured is not much of an issue.

This is the uniform thing?

What was UCLA supposed to wear?

122
USC was supposed to wear white.

Were both teams just charged a timeout...?

123- UCLA got the same penalty; is it an aiding and abetting situation?

125
UCLA willingly took the timeout so each team would have same number of timeouts.

126- Oh, okay. That was right sporting of them.

Some rival agents, however, believe that Boras might be offering Varitek in a "package deal" with the catcher's friend and fellow Georgia Tech alum, free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. The Red Sox are pursuing Teixeira, and the Nationals are among the other teams that might have interest in both players

Isn't this against the rules?

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8901804/Sources:-Several-top-FAs-likely-to-reject-arbitration?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49

3 yards! What was the Notre Dame total?

Gable = Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble.

Now punting on second down doesn't look so stupid!

Something positive!!!

Hey CJ, next time you want to run your mouth at PT, hold onto the ball. Feel free to go sit down for the rest of the game, I'll take Stafon and Tyler.

In other news, Virginia Tech won the ACC again.

UCLA should just kick the field goal now.

YEEEEEEEEEAHHH!!!

TRICKANERY!!

That was Nice.

TRICK PLAY BITES USC AGAIN. ...Also, the WR has a stronger arm than Craft, what's up with that?

What are college footballs rules for suspending a game? If the apocalypse starts right now, does UCLA officially win this game?

Trickery!

It's tough for Gable to be more pathetic then he was 2 years ago in this game, but he's really tried so far.

138- Well, it was a pretty terrible throw. Worked out nicely, but I wouldn't stick whoever that guy was behind the center just yet.

22 yards and one first down!

Can someone tell me about the play that resulted in a touchdown?

Come on, Norris. That was floating.

I remember when Oregon was ahead of USC 10-0.

Good times.

144
Craft throws to left side to WR Dominic Johnson. He throws it to the right side to RB Bell who jumps over two guys and falls into endzone.

This is going to be one of those games...

I'm so happy this is Sark's last game. Screens haven't worked all year, but all means, lets keep running them.

Rick Neuheisal really wanted that field goal to miss. Someone might need a mallet to the face...

Apparently, fights have already broken out near the bathrooms.

Rick Neuheisal will want the Charlie Weis deal after this game. 10 year extension GET.

29 yards and one first down.

Is there anybody else who can play QB for UCLA?

154
No.

Sanchez likes to air it out.

155 No hope for an untested backup who surprises everyone for one game and pulls a huge upset?

157
Nope. We would not stick with Craft if we did not have to.

We should punt here.

My antipathy for Steve Sarkasian is limitless

158 Too bad you couldn't convince Barkley to switch to UCLA.

FIGHT ON!

I was surprised at how happy Washington fans were when they heard they got Steve Sarkasian. Jeff Locker's going to hate that guy, like Sanchez does.

161
Brehaut is real good.

Was that a "face-guarding" call...?

160
*As an offensive coordinator for USC - as a person I hope he is a "good" person.

Jahvid Best has wrapped up Pac-10 offensive player of the week.

Sark is the "cutest" playcaller ever, and I don't mean that in any sort of good way. I wish him well, but can't wait for him to finally be gone.

165
Was it a I'm not lett'in ya get your arms up call?

"Face guarding" is legal.

168
Very Arrogant is Sark

170
That's what I thought, which is why I was surprised UCLA was called for pass interference when there was no contact.

Craft's throw hits Nieuhasul!

28 yards and one first down.

Craft's throw hits Nieuhasul!

Would have preferred a mallet, but I'll take what I can get.

Since Sarkisian was a QB for BYU, he's beloved in Provo.

And USC takes the lead.

Well, we had our moment in the sun.

Game over

178 It's Yoda time for UCLA - lessen the pain

Rey with the "friendly" head butt

I counted 36 yards and two first downs for the first quarter.

Ahh! the rare double (triple?)

Fight On!

182
A signifigant achievement for Mr. Chow!

Rosenthal said that Boras is trying to sell Teixeria and Varitek as a package deal.

Who will be the next offensive coorinator at USC?

My prediction - The son of Pete

The official total was 38 yards.

The official box score has the Bruins at 38 yards.

Sigh.

{185}
is "Frozenthaw" desperate for action?

186 - carl smith

50 yards and three first downs

UCLA always seems to have a bunch of spoiled, golden-boy looking white guys.

D4P is banned from making bad comments from UCLA. It causes Sanchez to make interceptions. :(

193 Including their coach.

Wow, a Norris interception.

This is starting to remind me of 2006.

195
Absolutely. Neuheisal is the Phil Helmuth of coaches.

So much for Charlie Weis being an offensive genius. UCLA has already surpassed Notre Dame's game totals last week. Of course USC's offense has provided more opportunities this week.

Charlie Weiss is king of arrogant college coaches.

Weis

60 yards and three first downs.

146

I remember when Oregon State beat USC.

Great times.

And don't remind me about the Civil War.

Damn, that was stupid.

204 Exactly which UCLA play does that refer to? ;-)

McSizzle is on today

205 I believe it was the roughing the kicker, but I understand the confusion.

Norris trying to guard Turner is a bad idea.

This is gonna get chippy in the 2nd half.

209
If it comes to people hitting the quarterback late and roughing them up, then you guys are going to get the raw deal on that one.

Tebow is getting pounded in teh other game.

I hope D4P has seen the USC cheerleaders to re-access his position.

210 - haha, I agree.

For the remainder of this contest - being in a powder blue uniform on offense is not good for your health

61 yards and three first downs.

Wow, Turner should be embarrassed he let Norris knock a high pass away.

The Bruins offense has slowed considerably this quarter but at least Craft isn't throwing touchdown passes for the other team yet.

Al Davis would have liked that play. The vertical game.

21-7, better than I was expecting.

I count 60 yards and three first downs. I will see how close I was.

And it easily could have been 14-7, which would have been amazing.

I've got my appointment to sign up for the Medical Yoda this Monday

Pretty funny how people say SC is a media darling, listen to Flutie and James.

211

Tebow has been 80% of Florida's offense, too.

SEC is a very good game.

Wow. Golfer Harrison Frazar just made a 30-something footer on 17 for birdie to go 13 under for his round at the PGA Tour qualifying tournament.

Needs par on 18 to shoot 59.

221 - could easily also be 27-0.

222
Very nice. Which area do you live?

Second half predictions anyone???????????

227
I'm behind the "Orange Curtain"

229
Nice, I prefer the OC clubs.

228 - Prediction?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1TxiVhrkZA

Frazar hits the fairway on 18.

231
Delivered with the intensity of John Roseboro. (Sandy ... why couldn't you have imitated Drysdale for just one pitch?)
Love It!

Frazar hits his 2nd shot to within 20 feet.

being redundant - This Is The Best Site On The Planet!

who would go to the Rose Bowl if USC were to lose? OSU beat USC, USC beat UofO, UofO beat OSU. All would finish 7-2 in PAC10

236
Oregon State.

Frazar shoots 59

Oregon State would go.

Pac 10 ref's are sick

Oh, come on! Is Sanchez untouchable?

I think UCLA has gotten away with some PI's, but been hosed on some PF's

Like USC needs help.

240 - this is what happens to us every game.

Fight On!

236 - I don't think USC likes this idea.

237 239 what's the tie breaker? so Oregon's only chance at the Rose Bowl is if USC backed into the national championship game

Pac 10 Refs wear grandma clothes and bake cookies when not at a game

247 - a tiebreaker where they do down the list and see who you lost too - it'd get to Cal at some point, which would knock out Oregon, then it's head to head with the other 2 - which is Oregon State.

RING THE BELL!

How is that not a face mask?

249 oh, that's right. thanks.

I don't think I could handle Craft at quarterback next year.

87 yards and four first downs. UCLA should be able to pass up Notre Dame's output.

I would also add that after watching USC football since 1971, this could be the first squad I would root AGAINST in the Rose Bowl. These guys are extremely unlikeable.

Ugh. Painful.

Seriously, when does Neuheisel put himself in? Even at 40something he'd be loads better.

although Neuheisel is extremely unlikeable

1957 - I'm 4.5 and walking to see "Bridge on the River" with my best friend who lives across the street and is 7.

He asks "What's your favorite color?"

Reply - Red and Gold

He says, "No! That Can't be right! It's Blue!"

Why?

Because my Dad says the Dodgers are coming to town and they're going to be our team and their color is blue.

So Blue is your favorite color now!

Nuff Said ... FIGHT ON!

I'm confused by the repeated "fight on" slogans because no one is putting up much of a fight right now.

254
May I ask would you prefer them even slightly if they wore your preferred colors?

There are plenty of fights at the Rose Bowl today.

258
It's something that we are imbued with at the school. It applies to all life situations.

I think the bigger problem are the USC fans in my section.

But an archrival has a greater hurdle to overcome. But I've never ever entertained the idea of rooting against the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl before. I rooted for USC against Northwestern.

262
But you started consecutive sentences with the word "but". But you're not supposed to do that.

USC might as well go for it on 4th every time.

You give a guy Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week and it goes to his head.

262
You are a rare one ... a very open mind ... where a Man can walk.

From Tony Jackson:

The Twins reportedly offered Blake a two-year, $6 million deal with an option for 2011

Hilarious.

267
lol we are so going to overpay.

Michigan beat Duke in basketball.

267
Take it Casey at the bat - please!

UCLA passed the century mark in yards I believe. Take that Mr Decided Schematic Advantage.

262 - at least the fans are fighting the other side. When I was at Game 2 at Wrigley this year, Cubs fans were only attacking each other.

Why do I feel so much hilarity in Patrick's enunciation of "Johnson" ending on the upbeat? Evrey time.

273
john SON

Where did Todd Blackledge go to eat?

275
Yuca's.

Point spread - is time runninbg out?

Buehler is on the take

Why aren't dynasties supposed to exist in college football?

Just making stuff up, Blackledge.

278
That made me laugh again.
Thank you!

I'd be o.k. with one more year of Casey Blake.

281
Yeah, one more year

From what I remember his defense is still pretty solid.

Ayers = dirty, dirty player

283
Casey's pretty good for an old guy

UCLA Uni's are way better than USC's...

286
Ha! They are pretty!

This is the most frustrating 21 point victory over UCLA ever.

286
got the game on the big screen jacked up to maximum volume!

Rey puts the icing on Dominic Johnson

Craft locks onto a receiver worse than Jamarcus Russell.

Doing some research on Mark Sanchez. impressive...

291 - wow, now you're really insulting Craft.

Tough for me to totally trash J Russ till we get some WR's who can run actual routes.

Marc Tyler - Watch Out!

293
J Russ can throw it through the uprights from his knees at the 50!
However - can he throw it to people?

295
So could Kyle Boller.

292

chip of the 'ol block:> His father, Nick, is a fire captain in Orange County, California; in college, Nick Sanchez played quarterback for East Los Angeles College. Mark Sanchez initially grew up in Whittier and Pico Rivera

297
BLUE Collar baby!

La Habra - Whitter - ELA - South Central - That's where I make it.

Mark Sanchez's family originally lived in Chavez Ravine.

Mark Sanchez's family originally lived in Chavez Ravine.

299
1 DEGREE!

267 He must mean $6 mil per year. No way they insulted him with that offer . . .

I was flipping back and forth between the game everyone here was watching and the Alabama-Florida game. That was a really good game. Alabama led the first part of the game, but Florida won 31-20.

All the late games stink.

A recurrant theme:

By CC& R

Let the Midnight rRmbler Shine a Light on Me

Try listening to that a few times?

Another favorite
Gimme Shelter
Grand Funk Railroad

299

I read that too.

285

I think one year of C. Blake & a defensive wizard at short is good enough... give me pitching pitching & more pitching & I think we'd be o.k.

as of right now (top 'o head) our starters are:

Billingsley
Kuroda
Kershaw
_____________

McDonald has a chance (I like Troncoso as well) but who else? Man - Ned has his work cut out for him this winter.

I'll be very happy if one of Tony Abreu or Chin-lung Hu surprises us in '09.

Some Kinda Wonderful

308 - I'll be very unhappy if we're relegated to see how they'll turn out next year as a result of having no one else to play.

Nad:

Playing the ball off the bat as it streaks toward you on the infield grass weaving and buzzing as it rapidly approaches you with the sound of a buzz saw - all the while plotting your next move once you capture the ball and deciding which is the appropriate place to initiate the defensive play with the throw.

Any spectators that really believe that the ball is traveling on a straight line across the grass are people who have never attempted to get in front of one of those hot grounders and get the ball into their glove to make the play.

Don't blink - watch the ball into the glove and see the red seams stop.
That way the ball is much less likely to strike you in the face.

However - you know that if you can not glove the ball that you must square up and knock it down - by any means possible - in order to conserve your pitcher's arm.

This is one of the reasons why I enjoy observing the play of Blake DeWitt.

So all alone in my basement and never able to find my way out.

I am desperately in need of a haircut.

7:23pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman jumps in on the Brewers angle. He says Sabathia is telling friends he expects the Brewers to upgrade their offer soon, perhaps when they get together at the Winter Meetings. Heyman's heard deferred money in the Brewers' current offer makes it closer to $90MM over five years.

Not that the yankees offer wouldn't have deferred money, but I have to think the Dodgers can easily beat the Brewers offer if they want to.

I say Hey Mona ...

Hey Mona ....

Tonight I am off the hook :)

314 - Bo Diddley's version is better.

68elcamino427 began the celebration early. : )

At the bars tonight, I will be drinking towards the hope of next season, since I can't celebrate now. : )

318

At the bars tonight I will just be drinking...

My son just brought home a 12 pack of Spaten.

It is time to fire up the hot tub

Spaten makes me wish it was Oktoberfest.

and so it is

I'm surprised Bob doesn't have a boxing thread, no wait...

Have fun tonight, everyone!

Next week, it finally should get interesting.

Christmas parades are fun. I especially like hearing the marching bands. Unless it's Lakewood's marching band. Honestly, who the heck invited Lakewood High's marching band to the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade?

Better stop ... look around ... here it comes ...

I'm at the poker table at the moment, just looking in and I'm thinking I've missed an interesting couple of days in these threads

Wild Horses coudn't drag me away

for those of you who did not watch, Oscar De La Hoya got humbled by a younger more explosive fighter tonight.

Manny Paquiao is amazing.

Because I used I used to love her ... but it's all over now ..

Never bet on a 35 year old boxer.

ESPN has released its beta site for its re-design launching in April. They have decided that one color is enough for a website, and has nixed automatic starting videos, thank god.

Arizona fans stormed the field after beating ASU. Why do they bother to sell seats? Why don't they just put all the drunken students on the field at the beginning of the game and just simplify things?

Bob--Do you have any kind of post script to offer on the University of Washington's football season? It seems on the surface to be of the unique variety.

Washington is the first Pac-10 team to lose 12 games in a season. And they went 0-9 in the conference.

And they let Jahvid Best rush for over 300 yards on 17 carries.

334

steve sarkasian

HA!!!!!!!!!!

How many wins does Steve Sarkasian get at Washington next year?

335 Nicely done. {bowing down low at your greatness}

Washington hosts Idaho on September 12, so I think the Huskies will get at least one win.

September 5 is listed on their schedule as TBA.
Washington has never played a 1-AA school, but 2009 might be the year to start.

On September 19, USC visits Seattle.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8903294/Sabathia-to-Red-Sox-isn%27t-far-fetched?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49

Ken Rosenthal tries to make an argument that C.C. would pick the Red Sox if they made a serious bid. Not that they wouldn't, but the Red Sox already has a surplus of starting pitching, wouldn't they have to trade somebody away to make room?

337
Without research - 4 wins

339 341 Heh. I'm going to splint the difference and guess 2.5 wins.

So the BCS bowls are:

National title game: Florida vs. OU
Rose bowl: Penn state vs USC
Fiesta bowl: Texas vs. Va Tech
Sugar: Alabama vs. Cincy
Orange: Boise St. vs OSU

Or am I'm missing somebody?

339 341 Heh. I'm going to splint the difference and guess 2.5 wins.

So the BCS bowls are:

National title game: Florida vs. OU
Rose bowl: Penn state vs USC
Fiesta bowl: Texas vs. Va Tech
Sugar: Alabama vs. Cincy
Orange: Boise St. vs OSU

Or am I'm missing somebody?

You put in Boise State instead of Utah.

"am I'm missing somebody?"

Utah is a glaring omission.

I bet the Orange Bowl is loving what's going on in Hawaii right now. Cincy v. VT is as bad as it gets, right up there with the Wake v. Louisville Orange Bowl

346 Yes, UH leads Cincinnati 17-10 with 5 or 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. UH scored two quick touchdowns after being behind at halftime 10-3.

Livestream of UH-Cinci:
http://www.espn1420am.com/?id=66

Good point by the espn announcers - if the Big East champ can't be the WAC 2nd place team, what does that say about Boise St and the BCS?

Some of us can just watch the UH-Cincinnati game on ESPN.

Are you listening to that livestream? Because if those announcers are the ones who said that, you should be aware they're both Hawai'i radio/tv guys, not ESPN employees. They might be a tad biased. ;) Bobby Curran does a sports talk radio show here, while Robert Kekaula is the Sports Director for the local ABC television affiliate.

350 Ah. It's blacked out here, naturally.

Well, this is going to hurt me in my Pick'em Leauge.

351 - watching espn - it was Rod Gilmore.

how did this offense win an entire conference?

A BCS conference too.

Way to save my team, Bearcats.

wow has hawaii imploded. gotta love holding on a touchback.

Salas is a funny last name in Hindi.

It is even worse in Urdu.

For those of us without ESPN Insider access, here's a photo of the beta design. Looks a lot better:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quietkid/3085447446/

361 Aside from the loss of the auto-launch video (thank goodness) it doesn't look incredibly different to me. Same general style, and still incredibly busy. When I heard the video was going, I kind of hoped they would cut down on some of the information overkill as well.

I assume Daniel and I are awake because we may be the only two here not hung over.

363
What was the big celebration in LA last night...?

I'm just referring to the comments in 305 and other ones made by the same commenter.

364
I assumed BHSportsGuy had a party to celebrate the t-shirt he got closer to winning off me (at game 3 of the nlcs I bet him USC would make the BCS championship game).

365
I was confused by all of said comments. Plus, there were lots of comments about drinking and celebrating that seemed to be in relation to a particular event or something.

363 Yes indeed.

Bob, I hope you had a good time at the game last night, despite the outcome. I mean, you must enjoy the games if you're willing to continue going during this season.

369
I'm just a glutton for punishment. After a while, it was just fun to see how bad things could get.

I wish the USC fans hadn't booed Norm Chow on the video board. It's not like he hadn't done anything for USC.

They booed Norm Chow?? That's enough to make me consider putting USC fans on my obelisk, and I'm a graduate of USC.

I was also somewhat surprisingly disappointed in the teams both wearing home uniforms. I think that since the teams have different home fields, it doesn't work as well.

When both USC and UCLA shared the Coliseum, the dark colors made more sense. It was both of their homes. But now, each school has its own home (even though UCLA's home field is closer to USC than it is to UCLA).

It just looked wrong. It wasn't like we woke up and found ourselves in 1967.

Dodger fans belong on obelisks for booing Shawn Green and Mike Piazza.

Will UCLA fans start attending sports where the team does better, so they can heal a little bit from this season? Maybe baseball, or swimming or water polo?

372 As a neutral observer, I thought it was pretty neat, and I'd like to see it in other rivalry games. But I can imagine it might irk some fans of UCLA since they were at home, and USC wouldn't have given up timeouts if the rivalry was more contested and more was at stake.

USC and UCLA will next play each other on January 11 in basketball. The men will play at USC and the women at UCLA.

374
USC beat UCLA twice in men's water polo this year. USC doesn't have a women's water polo team.

Today's combatants in the women's NCAA soccer championship are a combined 50-1-2 on the season.

UNC accounts for both the 1 and the 2.

NPUT

The fine people of Long Beach, CA had good reason to celebrate last night, as it was the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade! And next week it's the Boat Parade! With my girlfriend's office Christmas party the same night!! And it's not just any night it's CASINO NIGHT, too!!!!

Kill me now.