buddha

wheeler's annual top team prospect rankings are almost done. he's up to #6, columbus. and has said the top 5 are in a tier all their own. no wings yet, so were top 5.

just a strange coincidence that they both happened to be corners....or defensive tackles a few years before that. weird. "need" always enters into the formulation. always. there is no black line rule definition of "best player available". the criteria for what that means likely includes "team long term need." you make it seem like they either take "the best player" or "a player in the position for which they have an immediate need." the two are not mutually exclusive. again, teams likely have round grades on players. lots of players likely fit a certain grade. you take that and consider all sorts of things when you make that decision, team fit, need, scheme, etc.

so - in theory - the lions would take a qb in round 1 over a dt, de, or iol? arnold and rakestraw just happened to be the bpa at a pivotal position of need? come on. they have a board with a bunch of guys lumped together with similar traits and scores and they take the "best" one. the definition of "best" can also include "immediate need" or "long term need."

all this means is that marner and ratanan are going to get 14-15 per year.

seider and larkin too. was listening to wwp today with them gushing about hownthe wings were in great position to take advantage of the cap increase. 1) not if they adhere to "no one gets a bigger % than larkin"; and 2) every other team gets the same bump. all this means is salary goes up. the biggest advantage for the wings is that raymond and seider are on majorly team friendly deals right now. as wwp pointed out, raymond might be the most underpaid player in hockey not on an eclt other than makar.

lol. i'm not "refusing" to do anything. merely stating my opinion on the subject and - as usual - a number of different tangents that pop into my head as i type.

if you dont think schools are doing advanced scouting, i dont know what to tell you. everyone steals signs. its legal. they share those with each other. its documented. the rule against "in person scouting" is a useless caveat that is kept in place only because the north dakota states of the world dont want to spend money to send someone in person to "scout" or to have microphones in their helmets. everyone else is doing some form of it. everyone else steals signs IN PERSON and then shares them. its a distinction without a difference. all stallions did was come up with a better way to interpret them. but dont worry, the ncaa will hit michigan for it in some way. they do every time michigan breaks some stupid rule like stretching too long. they enjoy hitting michigan and michigan is too inept or aloof to just play the game like other, better run athletic departments. especially since harbaugh had his attitude toward them and refused to do the very simple thing of just playing their game. harbaugh missed almost half the season during their 15-0 run, that would be more than enough for such a minor violation. he's got a show cause against him. that should be more than enough. but its the ncaa and they need to show they have some relevance and thry hate michigan so next year michigan will get some sort of scholarship reduction and then appeal it and we'll all sit here and wait 3 years for some resolution.

i think the wings have the most points in the league since mcclellan got there.

i wonder if troy weaver tells himself it would have all been different if gores had let him hire charles lee instead of monty williams?

well sure, but we had james wiseman and marvin bagley and all those second round picks we got for saddiq bey!

i het moving on from luka, but like del and everyone else has said: "THAT'S all you got for a generational player?" zion is worse, fatter, lazier, and more injury prone and would likely pull three or four first round picks. donovan mitchell and rudy gobert pulled five first round picks/swaps! deaaron fox pulled zak lavine and multiple first and second rounders. the only reason this makes any sense is that luka is a real whiny, fat pos behind the scenes and they think he's in for a procipitous fall.

guess who is in a wildcard playoff spot? 6 straight wins.

wow. raymond does it again. beautiful set up pass to debrincat and he doesnt miss the open net. what a pass by raymond. we may have our elite forward yet.

great set up by raymond and larkin misses the open net.

you know who has a sneaky bad contract? rasmussen. $3.2 million until 2028.

terrible goal from everyone on the ice. especially lyon. awful goal to give up.

thank you for your service, jeff. your dad too. but your time in the nhl is likely over. the new generation cometh.

what are the bulls doing? that's the best you could do? the pick you were going to keep anyway? either lavine's contract is THAT toxic or the bulls have no idea what theyre doing. likely a bit of both considering they couldnt move lavine last year without attaching assets to it.

no. too fat. too injured. too lazy.

wings are huge underdogs tonight. they were underdogs last night too, but it was only slightly.

who goes down? shine?

tobias harris still sucks, i see. nothing changes there. serviceable player if he was making $3 or $4 milliom, i guess. maybe they move his deal next year for a star? heck, maybe luka might be available?

i get that, but a LITTLE hustle would be nice. i assume he hustles a lot more in games against good teams. or when those games are in doubt. this bulls team is...not that team. pistons play them back to back woth both games in chicago. weird scheduling.

the bulls are so bad that the post game show spent 5 minutes talking about a couple wnba players. its always nice to hear stacey king have to stfu when they lose to detroit. theyre paying patrick williams 18 million a year not to try hard. vuc is nice but he's so overpaid they cant move him. same with lavine. now you see why giddey for caruso was such a bad trade? giddey plays no defense and cant spread the floor. caruso was hurt too much but he really helpes them because he would play the D that lavine didnt and could be an occasional floor spacer. winning player versus a lazy losing player. and they didnt even get a pick out of it. and now giddey walks this offseason for nothing. they gush about ayo all the time but he's basically a 7th or 8th man on a good team. good return for a 2nd round pick, but not a needle mover. coby white is too small to play the 2, cant move his feet to play the 1 on d, and cant handle the ball well enough to play the 1. he's probably marcus sasser's ceiling, but he waa a lottery pick for chicago. buzelis has to put on weight. he's already better than patrick williams. that franchise is screwed. well, until the league gives them a top 3 pick this year. they already owe a pick to san antonio for the derozan trade. its why they have to tank this year to keep it.