LouisEly

Interesting point in that article that while they will be sitting on the sidelines during the free agent free-for-all this offseason, it is highly unlikely that a free agent will want to come here (with the possible exception of D-Wade). However next year Gadz and Redd will be assets known as expiring contracts that can be flipped for better players in the middle of a contract from teams looking to gain payroll flexibility. In reality, free agents won't want to come here. The best deals for the Bucks will be trades, in which next year will be the year. Also interesting that Al Horford will be a free agent after Gadz's and Redd's contracts will be gone, and he would be a nice fit here at the PF spot. You know, he does have that lineage here too...

Carlos Delfino is starting to grow on me. Granted it is difficult for me to see him in action, but every time I check the box score he always puts up crooked numbers in rebounds, assists, and steals, and even gets a block in here and there. 10.3 pts, 5 boards, 2.6 assists, 1 steal to 1.5 turnovers. That says pretty good role player to me. EI got 16 pts, 12 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals at Detroit, and the next night he plays 8 minutes (then 22 then 18). Did he get banged up somewhere, or did they just rest him? Seems like he hasn't been getting a lot of minutes the last few weeks. Four in a row, but now they get three road games in four days. Should beat Indiana, but back to back at Miami and Atlanta will be tough.

The problem is that I don't think the tourney committee looks at what the score was, just who they beat and who they lost to. Marquette's six Big East losses, IIRC, were to five ranked teams by a total of 18 points; I think if the tourney looks at the loss column though and sees @Wisconsin, @West Virginia, Villanova twice, @Syracuse, and Pitt they won't think anything less of Marquette; the losses to NC State and at DePaul could be the ones to hurt them. I do think they have to win three of the last four and possibly beat both Louisville and Notre Dame at home the last two games. 20 wins overall and 11-7 in the Big East gets you in. They also need no upsets in the small conference tourneys - the Northern Iowas, Gonzagas, and New Mexicos can't slip up in their conference tourneys.

In a past life I sold health insurance to self-employed persons and small businesses. Don't take what I say as gospel, as it has been over a decade and laws may have changed. In general, it probably will be difficult getting an individual plan with coverage of pre-existing conditions. Like Al said, last I knew there was a state program but it is expensive. As far as group plans go with large employers, I don't think that large group plans have any exclusions for pre-existing conditions. I'm not sure what the limit is in terms of size of the group, but I believe there are laws that require large groups to cover anyone who joins that plan which is why those plans can be expensive for employers. They operate under the law of large numbers - the larger the group, the more accurately they can predict what their health care expenses will be and they know that a certain percentage of group members will have pre-existing conditions and major expenses. Thus why large groups usually don't have exclusions or pre-existing conditions - one person won't have a significant impact on the total expenses of the group. With our company, they send out an annual report of premiums paid and expenses and the total health care expenses of the group are something like $20M/year over a couple thousand employees, so one person really isn't going to change that number much. I would recommend three things: 1) Find out what the annual cost would be for your expected health care in terms of cash price (prescriptions, medication, lab work, etc.). Find out average and worst-case scenarios for your conditions. 2) Talk to an independent agent about a plan with a high deductible (at least $1000, preferrably $2500 or more) with a copay for doctor's visits and prescriptions. Apply for the one that sounds best; if it comes back with riders/exclusions for pre-existing conditions you can decline it. I had this happen several times. Never hurts to see what they come back with, as you are not obligated. This way you know your options. Explain to your agent first what your situation is. 3) Look into a reinsurance plan; there are plans out there that don't cover anything under a large deductible (say, $10,000) but cover everything above that up to $1M or more. This may be your best chance for not having any riders/exclusions for pre-existing conditions; if you can absorb up to $10,000 in health care costs (thus knowing the cost of your care) but have anything catastrophic covered (100% over the deductible) you can limit your risk. If by starting your own business you are netting over $1000/month more and can get a reinsurance plan with a deductible of $10,000 you are financially ahead (i.e. possibly spending $10,000 more but making $12,000 more).

FWIW, Meeks has a much higher shooting % than Redd had his rookie year.

Not true - Meeks was the key to the deal. Philly really wanted him with their 2nd round pick and was upset the Bucks nabbed him ahead of them. Elson/Brezec were just throw-ins for salary; it really was Meeks for Ivey and a 2nd. Interesting bit about Brezec - it lists his birthplace as Postojna, Yugoslavia. Technically when he was born it was Yugoslavia, but now that is Slovenia. Postojna has some of the biggest caves in Europe.

Boy, hard to pick just five. Here goes: 1) Mat Gamel - re-establish your stardom young man, Macha be damned 2) Mark Rogers - prove your arm isn't made of glass and that it has been worth the wait 3) Zach Braddock - see #2 4) Taylor Green - show that you are the Corey Koskie (left-handed, decent power/OBP/defense) we were robbed of 5) At least one of Lucroy/Salome - because we desperately need a catcher of the future Honorable mention - every other pitcher on the Power 50

bj, where do you curl at? I was a member of the Madison CC for several years before I moved. After watching some of the women's downhill, the women skiers have to be just livid with that course. It's so difficult that it is dangerous, and someone could get (or maybe has been) seriously injured. Many people, even some Canadians, are saying this is the worst winter Olympics ever. And anything where scoring involves both time and judging needs to be thrown out. As much as I hate judging, I get the history and tradition of it, but pick time or judging for determining medals, not both.

Um... that 5 or 6 seed playing in Milwaukee is starting to sound pretty good for UW. And any seed is sounding pretty good for MU. Couldn't hit shots, Leuer obviously isn't anywhere near 100% yet, and that lack of inside presence broken record for MU won't skip.

I'll give you three out of four. One need not look any further than Michael Redd's line his rookie year to see that it is too early to cast final judgment on Meeks. Not guaranteeing he'll turn out to be Redd, but it took Charlie Bell five years before he ever did anything in the league. Meeks has done a lot more than those two did their rookie years. (I will say though that Wesley Matthews would have been a better pick.) The Bucks have done very well with 2nd round picks - LRMAM, Sessions, Ilyasova, Ronald Murray, Redd... heck, even Gadz is better than average for a 2nd round pick and Keith Bogans and Jason Hart are still hanging around the league. So who knows - maybe they nab the next LRMAM/Sessions/Ilyasova with the 2nd they acquire.

Marquette is listed as getting another verbal commitment and a juco transfer for next year - and of course, they are a 6'4" shooting guard and a 6'6" small forward. Five guys coming in and none of them over 6'6". If they had anything for a power forward or center this year to grab rebounds and provide low-post defense they would have won some of those close conference losses and could easily be a top-15 team if not higher.

I have to give credit to Bohannon for how he has asserted himself this year since the start of conference play, but it would have been nice if he wouldn't have waited 3.5 years before starting to assert himself as a scorer.

Don't do this with a colored had. I put in a light red one and it came out more pink-ish. Hot water is not good for colors. I think just soak them in the sink with a little bit of laundry soap for a few hours should do the trick. Use a spray laundry stain remover on sweat stains around the brim.

Wellers > Tutt > Knilans > Wells

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/f72350f19e048b4c3e0b18a0c0c8b2655cc5fb5.jpg Not quite 17%, but a flat fee. Along with a lot of other silly-arsed fees. Didn't know it was a privilege to do business with them.

I guess it speaks to how bad Berggren, Gavinski, and Markoff are if they combine for only one minute to defend the 7-1 Tisdale. UW got beat by two players - Tisdale and McCamey. Everyone else combined for 17 points. Tisdale was 8-11 from the field and shot only three free throws. If nothing else I have those three in there just to hack him and make him earn it from the line instead of getting easy baskets. Either way your opponent can't shoot 53+% from the field. Tisdale and McCamey combined to shoot 19-28. You can't let that happen.

bj, I agree with you to an extent about the halftime shows. I think next year they should try to find someone a bit younger and still "with it" to perform. The list of well-known performers under the age of 50 who appeal to corporate/mainstream America and a) don't have lyrics laced with F-bombs, B) aren't a walking tattoo parlor, or C) don't have any illegal activity associated with them is a very short list, and one of them sang the National Anthem. As far as "rock" artists, that list starts with U2 (are they under 50?) and then... gosh, I can't think of another one off the top of my head. Outside of a couple of country artists I'm struggling (God help us all if we have to listen to country music during halftime of every Super Bowl). We all saw what happened with Ashley Simpson a few years ago - no more teeny-boppers either.

I'll second on skip the videographer and even photographer - you know which friends take good pictures, so buy a digital SLR camera if your friend doesn't have one or if you don't know someone else who has one that you can borrow (they run about $500-600 on Amazon) and tell that friend that their wedding gift to you is to take pictures for the day. Have your friend take as many pictures as possible. That's all the photographer does anyway - just take a bunch of pictures with a digital SLR camera and have you pick the best ones. Develop the good ones, and have a craft store frame the ones you want. The DSLRs are expensive, but it's a lot less than a photographer and you get to keep a very good camera. Or you can turn around and sell the camera on eBay. The last wedding I went to I was an usher and I took along my old 5MP Sony camera and they said that I took better pictures than the photographer. As for reception hall, I'll second booking in October or November and even make another recommendation - the day after Thanksgiving. Fridays are a lot cheaper than Saturdays, and since most families get together on Thanksgiving anyway your families should be there. Kind of a 2-for-1; they get Thanksgiving and a wedding all in one trip if they're from out of town. Edit - I'll second skipping the cake. If you really want one go for it, but I've seen a tower of Twinkies, Ho-Ho's, and Ding-Dong's go over real well. Or have a family member do a cake for the wedding party and guests get a big cupcake (they have good ones at Costco).

Hmmm..... I'll start with the seven career ABs given to Steve Stanicek. I know El Paso and Denver were hitters parks, but how a guy who hits .343 with 40 doubles and 25 HRs in AA and then follows that up with .352 with 40 doubles and 25 HRs in AAA (and was the 11th overall pick in the 1982 draft) gets seven career ABs I don't know. Next is the three career ABs given to LaVel Freeman. Again, I know that the Brewers had a trio of hitters parks in Stockton, El Paso, and Denver, but anyone who hits .395 and slugs .627 in AA followed by a decent (.318 BA/.461 SLG) AAA season and is a first round pick (#26 overall in 1983 should get more of a shot than that. How's .331 / .454 / .471 with minimal strikeouts grab you? How does my buddy Jak Kraus' line in 1997 split between Helena and Ogden grab you - .390/.487/.610 with 38 BB and 15K in 246 ABs? Followed that up with... well, let's say a lot of personal distractions early in 1998 caused him to struggle early but finished with .314/.422/.454 with 46 BB and 33 K in Beloit the next year before a broken arm in a collision at 1B ended his season. Left the team the next year because they were playing a high draft pick ahead of him and he wasn't making much money with a child to support. Yes, he was one of those 23-year-olds but I'll put that line up against any rookie line by anyone, and finished his career with 90 BB and 59 K in 831 plate appearances with a .429 OBP. Lastly I have to go with a 21-year old who in rookie ball in 1985 hit .447; no, that wasn't his OBP - that is what he hit. The next year split between Stockton and El Paso hit .301 with 24 HRs and .540 SLG. Todd Brown hit .330 in 1987 in El Paso but the power wasn't there, and bounced around in 1988 at three spots his last year in pro baseball.

Personally I think any team should have to have a winning conference record in order to get into the tourney. Schools like Gonzaga and others have won enough games where a team that goes 14-2 in their conference is just as likely to win a first round game as an 8-8 team from a "major" conference. Maybe 8-8 could qualify, but a losing conference record should disqualify you for the tourney. If you're not among the top half of teams in your own conference you don't deserve to be there. Maybe 68 teams as long as there is some criteria that the last 8 teams to get in must have at least 20 wins or 10 conference wins, I might be behind it. But I don't need to see those extra three teams be 17-14 teams from power conferences.

I hope it doesn't go unnoticed that Marquette's five road conference losses, three of them to top 10 teams, have been by a total of 11 points. They don't have a difficult schedule at all the rest of the way - no teams that are ranked as of today and only two games against teams with better conference records - Louisville and Pitt - and both of those games at home. I think there is a good chance they win 6 of their last 8 and get to 20 wins with 11 wins in the Big East. That should get them in. My prediction is a 10 seed for Marquette.

Sad state of affairs, isn't it? Cuts down on oil consumption too, keeping prices down. The best thing for the environment is to not have any people. Lots of good points made in this thread. Generally speaking, the big picture is this - anything will cost money. Whether it is high-speed (or medium speed) trains or road construction/maintenance. Thousands of people every day go from Chicago-Milwaukee, Milwaukee-Madison, Chicago-Madison - that is not debatable. The question is what will be the most cost-effective method over time, both for the government/taxpayer and the consumer. Someone quoted the cost of just adding another lane to the freeway to be a massive amount. If this rail line can cut down on vehicle travel enough so that an extra lane isn't needed, or expensive maintenance is reduced, and the overall amount spent on transportation is less, then it is a good deal and saves the taxpayers money. That is what needs to be determined.

How do you convince those that perfer the freedom of driving, to ride a train that decreases their flexibility. How will you convince those with children that paying for fair of 3 or 4 at $25 or even $35 each direction, per person ($75 - $100, or $100 to $125) is cost effective. 1) Fewer people are getting married, and people are having fewer children. Families are in the minority. 2) If you think that gas is getting any cheaper in the long run you're a fool. 3) Do you know how many times I have had flights from Madison to Chicago (connecting on the first or last part of a trip going from Chicago to somewhere else) canceled? When bad weather hits they cancel the shortest flights first, thus Madison to Chicago is usually among the first canceled. Get me to Chicago or Milwaukee where I can fly direct, thank you. When those flights get canceled it's nice to have an alternative... and cheaper than getting a hotel for a night because you're stranded. 4) When gas gets back up to $5/gallon people will be complaining, "Why wasn't the rail line built years ago??" 5) Van Galder charges $27 each way per person for bus service from O'Hare to Madison, and it takes 3+ hours. They run about a dozen buses a day each way. 6) Trains are never late. Ever. Never have to worry about traffic or weather delays. Ever. 7) Safety. Fatal accidents involving trains - very rare. Fatal accidents involving cars - daily. 8) Being able to work on your laptop, use WiFi (my Verizon Blackberry can get internet anywhere there is a cell phone signal), read a magazine/newspaper/book, talk on your cell phone while traveling... getting more done instead of sitting behind the wheel, thus saving time because you won't have to do those things when you get there or before you leave. 9) Bring food with you and eat on the train, eliminating the need to stop somewhere. Buy cheaper (and healthier) food at a grocery store and not garbage at a fast food restaurant.

Lots of good posts in this thread. To address some of the concerns: The line needs to go right into downtown Madison. I'm not familiar with Madison I believe Bruce addressed the main reason why it probably won't go to downtown Madison: I just want to note that you guys have no idea what a pain it is to get the necessary land acquisition for this type of thing. Bingo. Someone else mentioned the problem with downtown Madison is and always has been the isthmus. There just isn't much land available, and it is too condensed to have a train flying through there at high speeds. Even if you could get the land it would have to slow down, and that would defeat the purpose. But people aren't going to hand over their house so that a rail line can go to downtown Madison. It would be like trying to get a stop by the Bradley Center. Believe it or not, one of the biggest costs to the project will be land acquisition. I hate to say it, but I think most people are too lazy or lack the forethought to plan ahead for something like that. There is a lot of truth to that statement. However the beauty of trains is that unlike any wheeled transportation they are always on-time with at most a minute or two variance. No problems with traffic or weather. And in WI when the snow and ice storms hit you have another mode of transportation that isn't really affected by the weather. I can read a book, take a nap or whatever on that ride, and not have to deal with parking, traffic, tolls and other issues. Yep - that's how you have to sell it. And igor hit the nail on the head too - put in WiFi and a mini-Starbucks. And somehow if it can eliminate dealing with parking at SummerFest then I think it will sell. The biggest reason why people outside of Milwaukee don't go to Summerfest anymore is because they hate dealing with parking. The last time I went there it took over an hour just to get out of the parking lot. I could have been back to Madison by then. Right but if you have to wait for a bus and then ride a bus, that's an extra 30 - 40 min to your trip Nope - really easy to coordinate the buses with the trains. The trains are never more than a minute or two off schedule - literally. The buses will be waiting so you can hop right on. you better believe I'd be taking a train to Madison instead of driving I-90. And you better believe I'd be taking the train from O'Hare to Madison instead of Van Galder bus line, which can take 3.5 hours in rush hour getting out of Chicago and/or in bad weather. The last five times I have flown back to Madison I've had flights canceled and had to take that bus. If this train can cut that in half I would definitely use it. One concern not brought up is if they put a stop at the airport it might greatly reduce the demand to fly out of Madison. If people can quickly get to O'Hare or Mitchell where they can fly directly somewhere instead of connecting and dealing with a layover I think business at Dane County Regional will drop.

Rather had this deal than Wolf's, simply because he is RH with RH-heavy lineups in the division (Pujols, Holliday, Ludwick, D. Lee, A. Ramirez, Soriano, C. Lee, Pence).