It’s a Marathon That They Are Willing To Run

Merck and Co. is facing roughly 30,000 lawsuits after its COX-2 inhibitor drug, Vioxx, was pulled from the market in late 2004. Instead of taking on the cases at the same time or many of them at once, Merck has decided to take on every lawsuit on a case by case basis.

Merck’s defense strategy has looked good thus far. They have won 10 of their 15 cases to date; including a victory on Tuesday in Madison County (IL). Tuesday’s win was very crucial because Madison County has been referred to as the country’s top “judicial hellhole” because of the millions of dollars won by plaintiffs over the years.

There are mixed thoughts out there about how Merck’s decision to take on all the lawsuits on a case by case situation. However, I find myself agreeing with Merck’s current strategy. For starters, this strategy will prolong the cases; which will allow their new drugs to hit the market and help Merck combat litigation costs. Secondly, they will be able to build each case off of the previous cases to help improve and strengthen the defense for the lawsuits that follow. The most recent victory will also help them in moving forward by winning cases in many different venues. Every win will help in building case law that future judges will be able to refer to in future cases.

There are some major consequences in trying every case separately; most notably being that they could lose some big dollar judgments. Their strategy is definitely not fail-safe, but right now it looks like it is working. However, it is very early and these lawsuits won’t be settled anytime soon. Either way, though, some analysts are predicting that the lawsuits and legal fees could amount to anywhere between $20-50 billion. For Merck’s sake, they hope this strategy will keep them on the lower side of those predictions.

10th win for Merck on Vioxx [Chicago Tribune]

The Final Four

I want to start by giving a shout out to my boy Bohn who's down in Atlanta at the Final Four now...must be nice. It's been a few days since I've been here, but I've been really busy drinking doing homework and such. So let's just get right to the predictions.

(2) Georgetown vs. (1) Ohio State
This may be one of the most anticipated matchups in the history of the Final Four. With freshman phenom Greg Oden going head-to-head with Roy Hibbert, this could be the best showdown between two dominating seven footers. The one thing I'm afraid of is how these two are very prone to getting into foul trouble early. If there's one game where'd I'd like to see the refs let the teams play, this is it. Let these two big boys get after each other and keep them on the court as much as possible.
With that, I see Oden and Conley outplaying Green and Hibbert just enough to edge them in a close one...Ohio State 78, Georgetown 74.

(2) UCLA vs. (1) Florida
This is obviously another exciting matchup, given that it's the national championship game rematch of just one year ago. I think Florida has just too much for the Bruins and will pull away late in the second half to set up another Florida vs. Ohio State national championship game this year. They can definitely keep it closer if they don't leave this guy open like Oregon did, but Florida still gets the victory...Florida 84-UCLA 75

(Note: Bruce Pearl just said there's no way a #16 seed will EVER beat a #1 seed...even more proof that the guy is a complete moron.)

God Damn Cubs, Why Do I Still Love Thee?

The image you see next to this text was my computer background before the start of the Cubs 2004 season (although I don't know who that random black guy is). I was really, really confident after the Cubs came just five outs away from reaching the World Series. Of course the Bartman game hurt, (to this day I don’t blame him, I blame this guy) but with almost everyone returning to the roster, how could you not pick them to go all the way. I even remember going to the computer lab at school on a Friday morning in early March of 2004, signing onto 5 computers and praying that I could score some tickets to some games. I felt that I didn’t really need to worry about seeing a great pitcher, because odds were in my favor to see either Prior, Wood, Zambrano or Maddux. Boy was I wrong. Prior didn’t even wait for the season to start before he went on the DL and Wood went 8-9 and missed 2 months with strained triceps. Despite those injuries, the Cubs were only ½ game behind in the Wild Card standings with 13 games to play. But, in usual Cubs fashion, they choked down the stretch, going 6-7 in their final 13 games while watching the Astros reel off 7 straight wins to end the season and take the Wild Card.

In 2005, we saw the Cubs finish with a below .500 record and last year witnessed them finish in DEAD LAST (yes, behind the freaking Pirates). Now, here we are, in 2007…dealing with the same old stories with Wood and Prior. It was reported today that they are both probably heading to the DL (again) and neither will make the Cubs opening day lineup. To be completely honest, I am almost relieved these guys won’t be making the squad. Instead of having high expectations, I can sit back and expect nothing out of them and be perfectly content with that.

Instead, Cubs fans get the opportunity to watch some new arms in Jason Marquis, Ted Lilly and Wade Miller in this year’s rotation. I know some people have complained about the signings and money spent for Marquis and Lilly. However, last year, these two combined for 377 innings pitched; while Prior and Wood combined for a grand total of 63 innings! I’m sorry, but even though these guys may not be as talented as Cubs fans would have liked, they’re much more likely to go out every start and give the Cubs 5-7 innings consistently…rather than spending 2-3 months on the DL. I think the Cubs have the lineup this year to win those high-scoring affairs when the wind is blowing out in Wrigley.

So I guess what I am trying to say here, is, well…good riddance to Wood and Prior. Wood has never won more than 14 games in a season (and isn't even a starter anymore), which may make him one of the most overrated pitchers in recent memory. And although Prior has had flashes of greatness, it doesn’t appear that he will regain his once dominant form anytime soon. I would love to see them come back and dominate like they once used to, but I am done counting on/hoping for it. As far as I’m concerned, these two will never do anything productive in a Cubs uniform again…and I think it’s safe to say that I’m willing to accept that and move on. So should every other Cubs fan.

(Come back later this week for my MLB predictions and my World Series champion!)

These Were the Great Woodays

I remember coming home from school in 7th grade, flipping on WGN and watching the last three innings of Kerry Wood's 20 strikeout game. It's hard to believe it has been nine years since that record-tying performance.

I love Chip Caray's call of "here comes the hook!" Everyone in the ballpark, including Derek Bell, knew it was coming and there was nothing he could do about it. That's how dominate Wood's stuff was that day. Unfortunately, we may never witness that dominant stuff ever again (well, at least in a Cubs uniform).

(Note: I still wish Steve Stone was behind the microphone for Cubs broadcasts.)

The Briggsaga Continues

So I sit down today at lunch with my Chicago Tribune in hand and go straight to the Sports page hoping to find some good news for my beloved Chicago teams (except these queers). But instead of being greeted with some optimistic news or a good Rick Morrissey article, my eyes are instead met with Lance Briggs continuing his holdout threat and Kerry Wood on the DL again (what a surprise you pansy). For now, I want to focus on Briggs and later I’ll hit the Kerry “I get your hopes up every year, only to let you down” Wood article later.

So we all know the story. Lance Briggs is good, especially teamed up with this guy. I won’t deny that. But Lance, let’s be serious…you’re not going to sit out. Whether you’re aware of it or not, the Bears franchise is historically stingy and I seriously doubt that they will budge to meet your contract or trade demands. It’s evident to me that Briggs really, really loves money and when the reality hits that he won’t get a dime of that $7+ million (which is about 10 times what he made last year) if he sits out, he’ll pick up his pads and helmet and step on the field for another Pro-Bowl year.

And although I remain optimistic that Briggs will indeed suit up in a Bears uniform this upcoming season, there is still that small part of me that can see him missing out completely on potentially good season for Da Bears. With Drew “I make life miserable for teams” Rosenhaus as his agent, there is definitely still that possibility. And if the Bears have to ultimately decide on whether to move him or let him sit, I say let him sit. Make him watch the entire season from the sidelines, let his value drop and don’t let him see a dime the entire season.

(As for the potential Washington trade...as a Bears fan, I kind of like it. However, I cannot see why this is a good deal for the Skins. Who knows.)

A Great Season and a Bright Future

The Notre Dame Hockey team has come a long way since finishing 5-27-6 just two short years ago. A new coach, some new players, and a new attitude have brought a seemingly hopeless program into one of the most dominant programs in college hockey this year…and for the foreseeable future.

When Jeff Jackson was named head coach before the 2005-2006 season, the Irish knew they were getting a proven winner. In the early 90s, when he was head coach at Lake Superior State, he led them to three straight national championship games, while taking home two crowns. And after coming to Notre Dame, he made an immediate impact by guiding the Irish to 13 wins and giving the team the belief that not only could they compete on the highest level, but that they could WIN on that level.

This year, Jackson really got to show the Notre Dame community why he was the best choice to take over the helm as the head coach. The Irish quickly showed that this was going to be a special season by trouncing the then #1 ranked Golden Eagles of Boston College. The hot start wasn’t a fluke and by the beginning of February, the Irish were ranked #1 for the first time in school history. They maintained that #1 ranking the rest of the season while capturing two more program firsts; the CCHA regular season and tournament crowns.

The Irish went into the NCAA tournament as the hottest team in the country, earning them the #1 overall ranking. In their first round game, they won a thriller in double-overtime, defeating Alabama-Huntsville by a score of 3-2; with freshman Ryan Thang lighting the lamp for the game winner. Then on Saturday night, they faced off against rival Michigan State and dropped a heartbreaker 2-1, eliminating them from the tournament and giving them a final record of 32-7-3 (25 more wins than the 2004-2005 season).

Although they didn’t reach their ultimate goal of a national championship this year, the future of the program is as bright as ever. Their three top scorers (Erik Condra, Ryan Thang and Kevin Deeth) are all underclassmen and will be back together for a couple more seasons. The Irish do lose Hobey Baker finalist David Brown, but there are high hopes for sophomore goaltender Jordan Pearce.

I want to congratulate the Irish on their great season and amazing two-year turnaround and I look forward to more great seasons in the years to come.

(Note: The Hobey Baker award will be announced on April 6^th, 2007 @ 7:00pm EST)

Sunday's Predictions

It is nice to see that I have at least one reader who I don't know personally...for that, I am happy. Although that certain reader doesn't really like my blog name, I respect all opinions and appreciate all readers.

As for the predictions, I am happy to say that I didn't go 0-2 last night. I was pretty close with the Ohio State prediction, but Kansas...not so much. That's cool with me though; haven't been a big fan of Kansas since Bill Self decided to bolt to Kansas after telling Ron "the crazed fan" Guenther that the Illinois job was his last collegiate job.

So for today, I'm going to jump on that Pac-10 bandwagon and take those fiesty Ducks in a tightly contested game...79-74. As for the other side of the bracket, I really like those Hoyas (even though Jeff Green totally traveled to give them the win against Vandy). Roy Hibbert will be more of a presence today and outplay Hansbrough down low and be the deciding factor in the game. The Hoyas take this one 74-69.

That's it for now...I hope to have some non-sporting blogs to post this week (although, I'm behind on schoolwork, so I guess I have to catch up on that first).

A Gus Johnsonless Weekend

I know this has been touched on a lot as of late, but March Madness without Gus Johnson, well…just isn’t as mad. He has been and still is the voice of basketball in March and is one of the reasons I tune into the games that I have already screwed up with my horrible bracket picks. I cannot imagine why they dropped Gus for this weekend’s games and decided to pair up James Brown and Len Elmore. Let’s be serious, Brown is fine for wrapping up football Sundays, but he can’t come close to comparing to Gus. And Len Elmore, well, I’ve hated that idiot ever since he continually showed love for Mike Davis while he was screwing up the Indiana basketball program. I can only imagine what Gus would have been like last night during the Georgetown game or that amazing game-winning block by Greg Oden on Thursday night. I wish I knew what idiots decided on leaving Gus out of this weekend because they are robbing me (everyone) of some great game-ending calls.

As for the games today, I might as well make my predictions since I have none of these teams in my elite eight (thanks to Texas, Washington State, Virginia and Texas A&M). I think Ohio State is ready to come out strong at the start and win a closely fought battle by a score of 77-74. In the later game, I see Kansas getting outplayed for 25-30 minutes…but those 10-15 minutes that they are outplaying UCLA, they will pour on the points. UCLA will hang close for most of the game, but Kansas will come away with an 82-75 victory.

That’s all for now, I hope this is the only Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight weekend without Gus Johnson for a long, long time.

Welcome to Bruce Pearl is Satan!

Hey to everyone who accidentally found their way to this blog and to those who purposely came over here (what in the hell were you thinking?!). Since everyone else is doing these blog things these days, I figured why not. I spend way too much time on pointless shit anyway, so why not write about and express my views on the internet!

My plan for this blog is to cover anything and everything that I feel like commenting, ranting or just making observations about. One day I may be completely focused on sports and the next day it could be about the stock market. I am trying this because I feel there are a lot of concentrated blogs out there, but I haven’t came across that many that are very diverse (and I love diversity!).

Those of you who don’t know me might be completely confused on why my blog is entitled “Bruce Pearl is Satan.” Let me start by saying that I was born and raised in an Illini family and have been a big Illinois fan since I can remember. I’d tell you the whole story, but if you care enough you’ll head here to read about it. Basically, Pearl is a slimy, lying, scumbag that set the Illinois basketball program back more than half a decade and ruined lives and reputations in the Illini basketball family. In the Illini community, Pearl is most commonly referred to as Satan…which leads to my blog title. Watching Pearl’s Tennessee Volunteers choke away a 20-point lead to a Buckeye team that was without Oden for half the game was great. Oden’s game winning block was the one of the most beautiful sights I’ve seen all tournament. The less I have to see of that sweaty fat fuck, the better.

So, again, welcome to those who just happened to read this. I want to thank my friends over at www.wearethepostmen.com, www.wearethebusinessmen.com (sorry Paul!) and www.hersheyandoc.blogspot.com for inspiring me to do this. It’d be cool if I were still doing this a year from now with some actual real readers, but that remains to be seen. I doubt it, but crazier things have happened!