j-dub's universe

BLOG MOVED!!!

j-dub — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 04:51:11 +0000

j-dub’s universe is now completely on the new server.

Go to www.jdub217.com to check out the new site and permanent home for all future content.

Please be sure to update your bookmarks, feed links, etc.

The new site also has feed links for you feedreaders out there.

My BCS Solution

j-dub — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:34:56 +0000

For those of you tired of the BCS crap and ready for a playoff system….read this post on my new site (www.jdub217.com) to see how I would propose fixing the already ridiculous BCS system.

2006-2007 NFL – Week 13

j-dub — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 14:20:04 +0000

Go to the new site (www.jdub217.com) to see my Week 13 picks.

Illinois vs. Arizona

j-dub — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 23:51:02 +0000

Illinois is ahead by 3 with a little over 15 minutes to go. That in itself is surprising enough, considering the game is in Arizona, the Illini are without Brian Randle, and to this point in the game Arizona has 6 fouls, Illinois 19 fouls. That’s an amazing discrepancy in fouls called.

Hopefully the Illini can pull this one out.

2006-2007 College Football – Week 14

j-dub — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 15:45:39 +0000

An abbreviated post on my picks this week:

Georgia Tech, USC, Arkansas, Rutgers and Oklahoma will be winners today

jdub217.com :: blog update

j-dub — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 06:04:16 +0000

The blog has been moved again. The blog has a permanent home now at http://forum.jdub217.com

Also, the main site is back up and going again. I’m still playing with some content/layout stuff, but it is back operational.

Let me know if you have any problems.

Here is a link to my latest blog post. (HINT: It’s about Illinois basketball)

New Site :: Upgrades Already…

j-dub — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 06:50:42 +0000

Well, I’m introducing another wrinkle to the site already. This will make the website more fully functional and allow for a more comprehensive solution.

Please bear with me. I will hopefully have these latest upgrades completed over the weekend.

Please check in frequently to get the latest update!

New Site Critique :: Your Feedback

j-dub — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 23:19:13 +0000

Well, I’ve been using the new site for a week so far. I know this a slow time of year, but I’m hoping all my wonderful readers have at least checked the new site out.

For those of you who have done so…Please tell me what you think. For those of you who haven’t, scoot on over to www.jdub217.com and check it out.

Here are some questions to help guide your critique:

Do you like the fact that the site is now hosted on its own domain?

Do you like the new format of a bulletin board/message board better than the blog format? If not, what type of format would you like to see (wordpress, blogger, etc)? Or more specifically, exactly which system would you like to see used?

How does the site appear visually? Do you like the colors, fonts, font size, etc? If not, what improvements could be made to those aspects of the site?

What else could be improved and/or changed to help make the site a more welcome place for participation?

Please be as critical as you want. I’m a big person and I can take it. The only way to make this a better site is to provide feedback. Your help is greatly appreciated!!!

I’m still alive…

j-dub — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 23:07:40 +0000

I’ve just been posting over at my new space…. www.jdub217.com

Feel free to check it out.

Here’s my latest post on the current AIDS epidemic…

www.jdub217.com :: Site Feeds

j-dub — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:19:44 +0000

I’ve got feeds up on the new site.

Go here to check out the post with the feed links in it.

Movin’ on up….

j-dub — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 17:33:52 +0000

As I sing this tune from the Jeffersons, I’m really just indicating that I’ve got most of the work done on my NEW universe.

Click here to check it out….

Or copy and paste this:

http://www.jdub217.com

into your address bar.

I’m keeping this space up for awhile before I completely move to my NEW home.

Let me know what you think…

UPDATE: Please read the Adminstrative board for the quick rundown on the new space.

2006-2007 NFL – Week 12

j-dub — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 16:40:55 +0000

Week 12 brings us the biggest challenge to date for the Chicago Bears. They face the Patriots of New England in Foxboro where the Patriots actually have a losing record this year (2-3). Which is unusual considering the Pats have been one of the best home teams in the league the past few years.

This is a HUGE test for Grossman. If he can “halfway” handle a bluffing, blitzing, and scheming Belichick defense; that bodes well for the Bears. If not, he can expect to encounter similar scenarios the rest of the season until he figures it out.

Here are the games I’m picking:

Pittsburgh at Baltimore
New Orleans at Atlanta
San Francisco at St. Louis
Chicago at New England
Philadelphia at Indianapolis

Monday Night Football:

Green Bay at Seattle

My Picks:

Baltimore, New Orleans, San Francisco, New England, Indianapolis, and Seattle

If the Pats can confuse Peyton Manning, they’ll confuse Grossman into a few mistakes. The Pats offense will dink and dunk the Bears defense into a few touchdowns, and the Pats D will hold on. I’m thinking 17-7 New England.

Illini 51 Miami (OH) 49

j-dub — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 03:39:54 +0000

The Illini escape with a win while playing without Jamar Smith and Brian Randle. You know it’s been a bad game when the coach says “I don’t think we deserved to win”, which is exactly what Weber said after the game.

In a game, dubbed as a “meat grinder” by the commentators, the Illini trailed all game; yet pulled out the victory. Carter makes his first basket with less than a minute in the game and Fraser makes a tough left handed layup in traffic to seal the deal. Fraser is tough player and is just a sophomore. And boy is McBride terrible off the dribble. I’ve never seen someone so one-dimensional on the Illini in a very long time. He’s catch and shoot and that’s about it.

Oh well, they pulled off the win. Their next two games are against ranked foes, and hopefully they’ll bring their A game. The 28th they play #24 Maryland and on Dec 2nd they play at #15 Arizona. These are what I’d call “statement games” for the Illini. Even if Randle and Smith are still out, which I think they will be, the Illini have to show something in these two games.

2006-2007 College Football – Week 13

j-dub — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 22:31:03 +0000

We are coming down to the wire in the College Football season.

This week should be the week which determines who will play Ohio State in the National Championship. If USC beats Notre Dame, and wins next week against UCLA; they’re in. They lose, they’re out, and it’s anybody’s guess who will be in; probably Michigan or Florida (if they win out).

Arkansas, Texas, and Boston College were all upset Friday. Arkansas lost to LSU, Texas lost to Texas A & M, and BC lost to Miami. Miami then proceeded to fire Larry Coker after a 6-6 season.

Games I’m picking this week:

#4 Florida at Florida State
Virginia at #17 Virginia Tech
South Carolina at #24 Clemson
#13 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
#8 Louisville at Pittsburgh
#16 Georgia Tech at Georgia
#6 Notre Dame at #3 USC

My Picks:

Florida State, VT, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Louisville, Georgia, and USC

Upset Alert: Florida – in a rivalry game anything goes, and I’m picking the Seminoles. In case you can’t tell, I don’t care for Florida or Urban Meyer. I think they are the most overrated team in college football, and Meyer is the most overrated coach in college football.

Black Friday

j-dub — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:16:32 +0000

This is the busiest shopping day of the year, and if you were one of the brave souls out shopping early this morning; tell your war stories here. Or brag about the great deals you were rewarded with for being an early bird.

Some of the brave female members of my family were out, and their descriptions of the situations were absolutely hilarious.

The only way I would have been out that early would be to get a deal high-definition TV. However, I could have gotten those online on Thanksgiving day and beat the lines.

Feel free to detail your Black Friday shopping adventures here.

Give Thanks…

j-dub — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 19:09:20 +0000

…for everything in your life that you are thankful for.

Remember what this day is all about, and enjoy the fact that we live in the greatest country in the world and have the freedom to do as we please.

My Pigskin Picks for Turkey Day:

Dallas and San Diego, I missed the start of the Miami/Detroit game so I didn’t pick that one.

Site Changes

j-dub — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 23:23:18 +0000

I’m going to be changing the format of the site over the holiday weekend. I’ll release more details here about the changes.

Also, I’ve had a domain name reserved for the site, and if everything goes okay, I’ll transition over to the new domain as well.

Thanks!

Cubbies Going Hog Wild…

j-dub — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 10:19:46 +0000

Yes, thats right sports fans. The Cubs are spending money….and lots of it.

The question is, is it money well spent?

Here are the key transactions so far:

Alfonso Soriano (IF, OF) – 8 years, $136 million (5th largest deal in MLB history)

Mark DeRosa (IF, OF) – 3 years, $13 million

Re-signed Aramis Ramirez (3B) – 5 years, $75 million

Re-signed Kerry Wood (SP/RP) – 1 year, $1.75 million

Re-signed Wade Miller (SP) – 1 year, $1.5 million

Re-signed Henry Blanco (C) – 2 years, $5.25 million

Acquired (LHP/RP) Neal Cotts from the White Sox in exchange for RP David Aardsma and Minor-leaguer Carlos Vasquez

The Breakdown:

The re-signing of Ramirez, Wood, Miller, and Blanco is fine with me. I think Ramirez is slightly overpaid at $15 million per year. That’s more than Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Carlos Beltran, Eric Chavez, and a cast of other better players get paid. But hey, if they lose him, they’d really be hurting for power in their lineup; so I guess I can see the reasoning.

I also think they are overpaying DeRosa, a career utility man, a little much.

This Soriano move is going to mark the Cub franchise for years to come. Hopefully, for them, in a good way. With memories of Cub’s past, I won’t hold my breath just yet. I sure hope they can live with his AWFUL defense in return for 40 homers and 20-40 stolen bases. To me, offense has never been the Cub’s problem. Recently it’s been pitching and defense. These moves don’t seem to address any of these concerns so far, unless they just plan to win games by softball scores of 12-10, 16-14, etc.

Cotts was awesome in 2005, but in 2006 his ERA was worse than Aardsma’s.

Supposedly the Cubs are still looking to strengthen their rotation this off-season. However, I’m guessing they aren’t players in the big name free agent pitchers, hence the Soriano signing. Plus, all the really smart teams like the Mets, Yankees, and Redsox are gobbling up the pitching as fast as possible. They’ve got $25 million (1/4 of their 2006 payroll) already wrapped up in the first six players I just listed above. Unless they’re going to exceed the luxury tax limit, I don’t see a whole lot of pitching help coming their way. My bet is they can’t find enough starting pitching so Wood ends up back in the rotation; again. And we all know how that story goes.

I could talk about this until I’m blue in the face, but that wouldn’t be any fun; so why don’t you offer up some opinions…

2006-2007 NFL – Week 11

j-dub — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 16:17:42 +0000

Games I’m picking this week:

St. Louis at Carolina
Cincinnati at New Orleans
Chicago at NY Jets
New England at Green Bay
Atlanta at Baltimore
Indianapolis at Dallas
San Diego at Denver

Monday Night Football:

NY Giants at Jacksonville

My Picks:

Carolina, New Orleans, Chicago, New England, Baltimore, Indianapolis, San Diego, and NY Giants

Well, after calling the Bears out last week, they made me pay. This week, I’ll pick em’. A couple of really good showdowns this week with Indy/Dallas, SD/Denver, and Atl/Baltimore. Should be a good week of NFL action.

2006-2007 College Football – Week 12

j-dub — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:27:50 +0000

After last week’s BCS Shake-Up, this week brings up two pivotal games. Those two games are Michigan at Ohio State, and Cal at USC. Both games have major national title implications. The Michigan/OSU game comes a day after Bo Schembechler, the Michigan/College Football coaching legend, passes away. See the ESPN story here.

Games I’m pickin’:

#21 Maryland at #20 Boston College
Illinois at Northwestern
#5 Arkansas at Mississippi State
Army at #6 Notre Dame
#2 Michigan at #1 Ohio State
#15 Auburn at Alabama
#19 Virginia Tech at #14 Wake Forest
#17 California at #4 USC

My Picks:

Maryland, Illinois, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Michigan, Auburn, Virginia Tech, and USC.

Upset Alert: USC – Cal will be gunning for USC, but now that Cal’s title hopes are toast; USC will pull this one out. I’d like to pick Miss. St. in an upset, but they are pretty bad. I think Arkansas is ripe for an upset after beating Tennessee and having to play LSU next week. This week is a definite trap game, but I don’t think Miss. St. has enough to pull it off.