ersimo2889

Like Darko's reached his full potential up in Detroit.. If Marvin's gonna be a superstar anywhere, it's here.

Yall werent too high on BK's drafting Royal Ivey last year either, but he not only made the team (such an accomplishment on last year's team, I know) but he ended up contributing nicely and showed signs that he can play in the NBA. If it's not clear by now, Billy has a plan and he knows what he's doing.

Why not Chris Reitsma? As much as I hated him last year for giving up many a close game, hes done a good job redeeming himself, at least in my mind. He has a 1.17 ERA, and batters bat .182 against him, and I see no reason why we shouldnt give him a shot at closer, especially before Kolb manages to blow any more games

I like the list, but I also like Raymond Felton a lot more.. He has good size, is very strong, a good finisher and has impressed me with his outside shot. True, he should be getting more assists with all that talent around him, but at the end of the day he is still the point guard and leader of a Final Four team. I also liked Joey Graham out of Oklahoma State, and though they lost in the first round, that forward out of New Mexico, whose name I can't think of.

Bogut's on tonight at 10 on ESPN. Let's see if he can dominate a small New Mexico frontcourt.

Yea, I don't know if Payton wants to stay here half as much as we want him to stay here. He'll probably leave after the season's over unless we pay him more than he's worth.

Now we can get Bogut and a good PG

But giving up the 7th pick is a huge loss. With it, if they really wanted a wide receiver, they could have drafted Braylon Edwards out of Michigan or Mike Williams out of USC, but now Mike Tice can use it on his defense. I think the Vikings still have some really good receivers in Nate Burleson, Kelly Campbell and Marcus Robinson, which leads me that this trade works out beautifully for them, and who knows, maybe for Kerry Collins and Oakland too.

Dwight Howard - hometown hero

Hate to sounds like a novice, but what's the difference between HDTV and Plasma TV? And which one's better?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1978694 ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks were stranded on their chartered plane for seven hours after a winter storm paralyzed the city's airport, preventing the team from making its scheduled flight to Memphis for Saturday night's game against the Grizzlies. The Hawks left for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport immediately after their 106-96 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday night. They didn't get there quick enough. The storm already was sweeping through Atlanta with freezing rain and sleet, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. The Hawks wound up being stranded on their chartered jet from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. Saturday, when it became apparent they wouldn't be able to get out anytime soon. All hotels around the airport were booked up, so the players and staff were taken by vans to a downtown hotel -- about 10 miles away -- to await word on the fate of their game in Memphis. Team spokesman Arthur Triche said the Hawks were in discussions with the league about whether to postpone the game. As of late morning, only one runway at Hartsfield-Jackson was open. With more freezing rain and sleet predicted for Saturday, officials weren't sure when they would be able to open another of the airport's four runways. "At this point, we don't know if we're going to play," Triche said. "We were sitting on the plane, sitting through the de-icing process. When they were finally done, they wouldn't let us take off." Freezing rain and sleet coated Atlanta streets with at least a quarter-inch of ice, causing havoc at one of the world's busiest airports and shutting down parts of every interstate highway in the metro area. At least two traffic deaths were blamed on the wintry weather. The storm system swept into Georgia from the Midwest and continued its push into the Carolinas.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1261997.html?menu Man peed way out of avalanche A Slovak man trapped in his car under an avalanche freed himself by drinking 60 bottles of beer and urinating on the snow to melt it. Rescue teams found Richard Kral drunk and staggering along a mountain path four days after his Audi car was buried in the Slovak Tatra mountains. He told them that after the avalanche, he had opened his car window and tried to dig his way out. But as he dug with his hands, he realised the snow would fill his car before he managed to break through. He had 60 half-litre bottles of beer in his car as he was going on holiday, and after cracking one open to think about the problem he realised he could urinate on the snow to melt it, local media reported. He said: "I was scooping the snow from above me and packing it down below the window, and then I peed on it to melt it. It was hard and now my kidneys and liver hurt. But I'm glad the beer I took on holiday turned out to be useful and I managed to get out of there." Parts of Europe have this week been hit by the heaviest snowfalls since 1941, with some places registering more than ten feet of snow in 24 hours.

Well, he WAS the Rookie of the Year in '94, so the skill is obviously there somewhere, but the attitude - Well, Bobby Cox seems to be able to take unmotivated or players considered past their prime and turn them back into stars (Jaret Wright, JD Drew). He might have his hands full though with an unmotivated, past-his-prime, someone's trying to ruin my life player.. But I definitely don't see him as an every-day player. ..And there is still the possibility that the Braves never even signed him

Says he signed with braves, but Braves say otherwise.. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n...1658EST0393.DTL Mondesi says he reached agreement with Braves (01-13) 13:58 PST SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Raul Mondesi said he has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Braves on a one-year contract. Mondesi told The Associated Press that he will earn $1 million, and that the deal includes performance bonuses that could bring the total value up to $1.7 million. "I will travel to Atlanta tonight to take a physical early Friday, and the deal will be official afterward," Mondesi said Thursday. According to Braves spokesman Brad Hainje, assistant general manager Frank Wren said Mondesi's claim was not true. "We don't have any news on Mondesi," Hainje said. "There are a number of players we're talking to. I don't know if Mondesi is one of them. "He has not signed with us, and we don't have plans for an announcement today." Mondesi said he chose Atlanta over Baltimore because the Braves offered him the starting right field position. That spot opened when J.D. Drew signed a $55 million, five-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. "The Orioles offered more money, but they didn't guarantee a regular spot on the team," Mondesi said. "I'm still a young man that can do many things on the field. Mondesi, 33, hit .241 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 34 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Anaheim Angels last season, when he was shadowed by off the field trouble. Mondesi began the season with the Pirates, who terminated his contract on May 19 -- just 12 days after he left the team to return to his native Dominican Republic to fight a lawsuit. Mondesi, who claimed he was fearful for his family's safety, contested a lawsuit by former major leaguer Mario Guerrero, a fellow Dominican who said Mondesi promised him 1 percent of his major league earnings for helping develop his skills. "That won't happen again," Mondesi said. "The Braves are already warned about Guerrero's attempts to ruin my life." The Angels terminated Mondesi's contract after he failed to show up for a rehabilitation appointment following a leg injury. Mondesi was placed on the disabled list because of a torn right quadriceps just 11 days after signing with Anaheim. The contract was to pay him $1.75 million for the rest of the season. He played only eight games with Anaheim, going 4-for-34. Mondesi's last game was a 17-inning affair against Milwaukee on June 8, when he hurt himself while running out a grounder in the fifth inning. He kept playing until he grounded out for the final out of Anaheim's 1-0 loss. Mondesi left the Pirates after the team retained his first two paychecks because of the lawsuit. "I'll try to think that there's nothing else in life besides my job," he said. Mondesi, the 1994 NL rookie of the year with Los Angeles, has a career .275 average, with 267 home runs and 843 RBI in 12 seasons.

Oh, I found this at bravescenter.com, but you need a subscription to read it. Someone on another forum was kind enough to post the article, though, so I put it up here, too. Looking now, it looks like the Braves also signed one of Japan's top high school players. But of course I can't read the article..

In their continuing search for an outfielder, the Atlanta Braves are in discussions with the Texas Rangers about what could be a blockbuster trade, sources say . Talks between Atlanta General Manager John Schuerholz and Texas GM John Hart have included the following names being thrown around: Mark Teixeira and Kevin Mench on the Texas side and Rafael Furcal, John Thomson, and Horacio Ramirez on the Braves side. The Braves would like to do a deal that would send Furcal and Thomson to Texas for Teixeira and a prospect. The Rangers, who did express interest in Thomson returning to Texas during the summer, would prefer Horacio Ramirez. Schuerholz isn’t likely to include him in the deal, however. The two teams discussed Mench at the winter meetings last month, and his name is still a possibility if the Rangers don’t give up Teixeira. Texas is talking with the Astros about a deal that would send second baseman Alfonso Soriano to Houston for Brandon Backe and additional players. The Rangers would then need a middle infielder. They could either move Furcal to second base, his natural position, or move last year’s shortstop Michael Young back to second base, where he started 159 games in 2003. Atlanta would move Teixeira to right field, where he did play in seven games with the Rangers last season (four starts). He played 142 games (138 starts) at first base in 2004. Teixeira played in 29 games in the outfield in 2003. He came up as a third baseman, but the Rangers moved him to first since they already had Hank Blalock at third. Teixeira hit .281 with 38 home runs and 112 RBI last season. The switch-hitter turns 25 years old on April 11. Mench hit .279 with 26 home runs and 71 RBI last season in 438 at bats. It was his breakout season, as his previous high was 15 home runs and 60 RBI in 366 at bats in 2002. The right-handed hitting Mench just turned 27 last week. The centerpiece of the deal for Texas is Furcal, who is eligible for free agency after the 2005 season. Furcal batted .279 with 14 home runs, 59 RBI, and 29 stolen bases in 2004. The Braves have discussed a contract extension with his agent, but the deal, reportedly worth $25 million over three years, is not close. Therefore, the option of trading Furcal is attractive to Atlanta, particularly if they can get a significant player for their outfield. Thomson signed with the Braves in thirteen months ago after spending the 2003 season with the Rangers. He was 13-14 for a Texas club that won only 71 games. Thomson went 14-8 last season for the Braves with a 3.72 ERA in 33 games started. The Rangers are trying to sign Carlos Delgado to play first base. That would give them the flexibility of dealing Teixeira. Thomson would join Kenny Rogers, Ryan Drese, Chan Ho Park, R.A. Dickey, and Chris Young in the Rangers rotation. If Furcal were traded, the Braves would probably allow the shortstop position to be a spring training battle between Wilson Betemit and Tony Pena, Jr. Luis Hernandez, slated for AA Mississippi, is probably not ready to make the jump. Atlanta could also try to bring in another veteran to battle the young kids for playing time. Like all trade talks, these discussions are very fluid and could go either way. We’ll keep you updated when we hear additional information.

But it makes good sense for the Magic. I think Christie will be the perfect complement to Steve Francis (who I see as an enhanced version of Mike Bibby)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1964051 BOSTON -- The Orlando Magic acquired Doug Christie from Sacramento for Cuttino Mobley on Monday in a trade of guards intended to improve their defense and passing. The Kings also received forward Michael Bradley, who is on the injured list with a strained right hamstring. The deal, first reported by ESPN Insider Chad Ford, was announced at halftime of Orlando's game with the Boston Celtics. Mobley, who had started 21 of his 23 games this season for the Magic, did not play Monday and was replaced in the starting lineup by Stacey Augmon. "We felt that Doug was a perfect fit for the chemistry of our team right now," Orlando general manager John Weisbrod said in a statement. "He's a tremendous passer and defender, he's accustomed to playing in an up-tempo offense and he brings valuable playoff experience." He said he likes Mobley but the Magic's depth at shooting guard helped them make the trade. The Kings have been looking to juice their backcourt scoring ever since Bobby Jackson went down for the season. While the deal makes Sacramento more potent offensively, it does lose its best (and sometimes only) defender in Christie. The deal is also a salary cap wash, as both Christie and Mobley are free agents after the 2005-06 season. Christie is averaging 7.3 points, 4.9 assists and fouR rebounds in 31 games, all starts. Mobley is averaging 16 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists. In eight games with the Magic, Bradley is averaging 0.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game.

I know I'm a week late but I'd like to see everybody's playoff predictions and who everybody thinks will be in the Super Bowl and who'll end up on top.. I had the Chargers in a pool so I'm still a little pissed at Nate Kaeding (does anyone else think he looks like he's about 7 or 8 years old?), but otherwise the games were easy to pick. I personally think the Rams were the worst possible team the Falcons could play, but I still think we're looking at a Pittsburgh - Atlanta Super Bowl with the Steelers coming out on top.. On another side note, who do you think wins the Colts-Pats game this weekend?

Thanks for the concern but I don't need it anymore..

Weez, If it's possible could you post the NFL Insider about the top 32 NFL Draft prospects? I appreciate it

He started, played the most minutes for the Rockets (39) but was 0-8 with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.. and then they get blown out by Milwaukee. Meanwhile, I really like Tyronne Lue and how he seems to have control of the tempo of the game when he's playing, and I'm sure as he starts to get more comfortable with the team I'll only like him more.

Yea, this seems awfully familiar to the last time we played Indiana.

Has Jon Barry played at all this game?

Quote: ...and they would likely be more effective and entertaining as well. ...and not get packed by Dwyane Wade.