Sir Charles on the Bulls: 'Y'all In Trouble'

I don't really think I need to go any further into how I feel about the Bulls this season, as I've been expressing my opinions all season long. So instead I'll turn it over to Charles Barkley, who is by far the greatest analyst in any sport ever. I generally enjoy watching Charles in the TNT studio with Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith more than the game that's being shown.

Charles did a conference call with Reggie Miller yesterday to talk about the upcoming NBA playoffs when the topic of the Bulls came up. As usual, Barkley didn't hold back.

"They have a bunch of good, little pieces, but they should have made trades," Barkley said. "Who is their best player? We start with that. Who is their best player? To be a great team in the NBA, you have to have at least one really good player. When you think about the Bulls, you don't even know who their best player is.

"When [Luol Deng and Ben Gordon] turn down $10 million to $12 million [per year], I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?' " he said. "First of all, that's highway robbery if you get that much money. They're just good players, not great players.

"If you offer a good player $10 million a year, he should get a pen as fast as he can."

Charles then finished with this salvo about the trades the Bulls never made.

"Whoever didn't make that trade was just stupid," he said. "Hey, Luol Deng is a good player but he's never going to be Pau Gasol and he's definitely never going to be Kevin Garnett. And now you're stuck. You're up the creek without a paddle, plain and simple."

He's 100% right, too. None of us can really say anything to the contrary about it either, because everybody I know was against trading Luol Deng at the time. The only way I wanted to see Deng traded in the last few years was for Kobe, and though I would have gotten over it if Deng had been sent to Minnesota for KG, I wasn't exactly thrilled with that idea at first either.

Of course, it's a lot easier for Charles or anyone to say this now, after we've all seen the disaster that ensued.

Joakim Noah Speaks Out

As has been clearly evidenced by the complete lack of Bulls coverage here the last few weeks, I'm done with the NBA season until the the playoffs start. In a way, you could say I've quit on the team. Though you couldn't blame me for it, because the team quit on itself a long time ago.

Just this week the Bulls have lost to a D-League team in the Miami Heat, and they got blown out by an Orlando Magic team last night that has absolutely nothing left to play for. Yet, at no point during either of those games did it seem like the Bulls even had the slightest interest in winning the game, and therefore, I have no interest in seeing them play.

And fans like myself aren't the only one growing frustrated with this team. Just listen to what Joakim Noah had to say after last night's loss.

"It's a disease, and it spreads throughout the whole team," Noah said calmly. "It's just really, really hard right now because regardless what we do, there's no light at the end of the tunnel, especially for this season.

"We're not really playing with a lot of pride and respect for the jersey. It's just hard because you can't point at anybody individually. It's just our togetherness as a team is just bad. You can talk about Florida. But if you're a Bulls fan, I'm not a champion anymore. We're losers. We lose. That's all we do. That's all there is to say.

"There's going to have to be a serious team talk before the end of the year about our approach to every game and things that are going to be tolerated and not tolerated. Not little stupid things. I'm talking about winning and the sacrifices that need to be done to win."

Oh wait, there's more.

"I don't know what's going to happen next season, who is going to be here and who is not," he said. "But we have to perform. We're just not putting the effort out there and making the sacrifices to win.

"Is there a nucleus right now? Not the way we've been performing. Is there potential? Yeah, but there's potential on every team in the NBA. That doesn't mean anything at the end of the day. The only thing that matters is W's and L's."

Anyone see anything wrong with this? No, I'm not talking about the fact that a rookie is saying these things. I love the fact Joakim is talking like this, because at least he cares. What I want to know is where are Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Kirk Hinrich in all of this? Aren't they the veterans? Aren't Ben and Lu both playing for long term deals this summer? Doesn't Kirk already have that long term deal?

Where the hell is the drive in this team? I don't know if they just completely revolted against Scott Skiles, and then they continued it when the inept Jim Boylan took over or what, but this has been one of the most pathetic Bulls seasons I think I've ever lived through. Yes, that includes the years after MJ left, because those teams were supposed to suck.

This team has a ton of talent, and they've just chosen not to use it this year. It's fucking sad.

Everything Joakim said is dead on, and I can only wish that somebody else on this "team" cared half as much as he did.

Moose's Release Opens The Door For All Sorts Of Awesome Opportunities

I haven't written about the Bears much at all lately, for obvious reasons, but I'm very pleased the team has given me something to write about today. On Monday afternoon the news broke that the Bears were releasing both Muhsin Muhammad and Fred Miller.
Thank you, Jesus. (Or should I thank Allah?)

They also signed Alex Brown to a two-year contract extension.

With the release of Miller, the Bears offensive line is automatically better, as Fred looked more like an open gate this season than a right tackle.

As for the release of Muhammad, it wasn't entirely unexpected, but before yesterday's announcement there had been no word it was coming.

To release Moose was the right move by the Bears. When he signed his big contract here in 2005, Moose was coming off a season in Carolina where he made 93 catches, gained 1,405 yards and caught 16 touchdowns.

In three seasons with the Bears, Moose caught 164 passes (his high for a season, 64 in 2005), for 2,183 yards and 12 touchdowns. Not exactly the type of production the Bears were hoping for.

Of course it could be argued that Moose didn't have much of a chance in Chicago. After all, he was forced to catch passes from NFL greats like Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, and Brian Griese. At the same time though, it could be argued that great wide receivers make quarterbacks better.

Would Tony Romo be so dreamy if he didn't have Terrell Owens to throw to? Hell, even Tom Brady benefited from having Randy Moss. He was already great before Randy came to New England, but in 2007 Tom threw 50 touchdown passes after never throwing more than 28 in a season without him (Dreamboat did it twice, in 2002 and 2004).

Moose, whether the expectations were fair or not, was supposed to be that kind of player for the Bears, but instead he was just another in a long line of mediocre receivers who have passed through our glorious city.

With Moose now out of the picture, the question becomes: What the hell are the Bears going to do with their receiving corps now?

Well, it's pretty obvious at this point that Bernard Berrian will be having a franchise tag slapped on him in the very near future. I don't think he'll mind it as much as Lance Briggs either. Bernard had a bit of a disappointing season in 2007 after showing a lot of promise in 2008, so a year as the clearly defined #1 receiver in Chicago could help him get back some of the money he would have lost on the free agent market this season.

After Bernard, the cupboard's pretty bare.

The depth chart now looks like this:

1. Berrian
2. Mark Bradley
3. Devin Hester
4. Rashied Davis

Doesn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence, does it?

So where does the team go from here? Well, former Bear Marty Booker was recently released by the Miami Dolphins, and there are rumors he could be coming back here, but he isn't the answer. Still, given the fact that there aren't very many attractive options on the free agent market this offseason, and the team has other more pressing needs to address in the draft, Booker could be a nice stopgap option.

You know what would be insane, though? The previously mentioned Randy Moss is a free agent this offseason, and he has intimated that he'd like a big contract. So it doesn't look like he's going to take a smaller deal to stay on with the Patriots.

Would the Bears have the balls to go after Randy? Would it be the smart thing to do?

I think they have to try. They have room under the salary cap to make such a deal if they really wanted to, and adding Moss to the team might solve the quarterback problem all by itself. (Not to mention that if they did sign Moss, they could easily let Berrian go as well.) Think about it, what's the one pass that Rex Grossman can consistently throw?

The deep ball.

Who in the history of the NFL is a better deep threat than Randy Moss?

Imagine the possibilities. Berrian and Moss are both deep threats that opposing defenses have to respect, and that would create a ton of room for the Bears offense. Greg Olson could flourish over the middle of the field against linebackers that would be forced to cover him, and Devin Hester would find plenty of space to maneuver.

Not to mention that it would force teams to stop putting 8 men in the box all the time, which could only help the Bears ground game.

It's a pipe dream, I know, but it's a wonderful one to have.

Foul Balls

It's Time To Say Goodbye To Ben Gordon - I've written about it before, but with the recent barrage of big trades taking place in the NBA recently, I'd like to revisit the topic.

The NBA trade deadline is quickly approaching, and I hope that John Paxson is currently working the phones trying to trade Ben Gordon. I know John has said in the past that he'd like to keep Gordon here long term, but that just doesn't make any sense. If Gordon wanted to be in Chicago long term, he'd have taken the $50 million extension the team offered him in the offseason.

With Thabo Sefolosha continuing to grow into a strong NBA player, the need for Gordon on this team becomes less necessary. There has to be somebody in the Western Conference who wouldn't mind adding a scorer like Ben to their team for what's going to be a very exciting stretch run to finish the NBA season.

I suggest Paxson makes the move now before Ben walks away for nothing later.

Bobby Howry Early Favorite To Close - Lou Piniella has been saying for a while now that the position of closer on the Cubs in 2008 will be a three-horse race between Bobby Howry, Kerry Wood, and Carlos Marmol, with the winner being decided in spring training.

Of course, that hasn't stopped the media from continually asking him who the closer is going to be despite the fact that nobody has thrown a pitch this spring. So it's not surprising that on Monday Lou let it slip that he's leaning more towards Howry right now based on the performance he gave in the role last season filling in for an injured Ryan Dempster.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella has been careful not to handicap the three-way race for closer, preferring to let Kerry Wood, Bob Howry and Carlos Marmol compete with no preconceived notions of where they stand.

But in an interview Sunday night on WGN-Ch. 9, Piniella acknowledged Howry is the early favorite based on the job he did subbing for Ryan Dempster in 2007 and the fact that Wood's durability is unknown.

Personally, I don't know why there hasn't been more talk about Minnesota closer Joe Nathan. Nathan is entering the last year of his contract with the Twins, and since Minnesota isn't going to be competing for the AL Central title this year, keeping one of the game's premier closers doesn't seem to make much sense.

Nathan has said he'd like to stay in Minnesota and work out a new deal, but I don't see the Twins committing that kind of money to him. So why doesn't Jim Hendry give the Twins a call to see what it would take to get him?

If you think the Cubs bullpen is strong now, imagine what it would be like with Nathan at the back end? The Cubs would essentially be shortening the game to 6 innings. Plus, since Nathan is in the final year of his contract, the Cubs could just let him go after the season, get some draft picks, and install Marmol as their new closer in 2009.

Surprised and Disappointed

Okay, so now that I got my concern for Tom Coughlin out of the way, I guess I can move on to actually talking about the games yesterday.

Honestly, I don't really have that much to say about the AFC Championship game. The game played out exactly how I thought it would play out, with the only surprise being LaDainian Tomlinson only getting two carries. Obviously, the lack of Tomlinson didn't help San Diego's cause, but I doubt he would have made much of a difference had he played.

The Patriots have been the best team in football all season, and they weren't going to lose yesterday. I mean, Tom Brady played more like Rex Grossman yesterday, and the Patriots still won. It's not fair.

And now, the only team standing in the way of the Patriots pursuit of an undefeated season is the same team that tried to stop them from having an undefeated regular season: the New York Giants.

I was shocked that the Giants beat the Packers. Shocked. I really didn't feel as though the Giants would keep it close. I know they'd won their last nine road games, and I know that they were playing better the last three weeks than they had been all year, but I still didn't think they had a shot.

There was just no way that Eli Manning, who has been horrible in cold weather throughout his career, was going to be able to out duel the great Brett Favre. Not in his storybook comeback season!

But instead the great Favre morphed back into the Favre we saw the last few seasons, making bad decisions and worse throws. Favre had no excuse either.

Sure, his offensive line did a horrible job of giving Ryan Grant and the Packers run game any room to operate, which forced Green Bay to completely ditch it's running game (one of many mistakes Green Bay made yesterday), but they did a fantastic job in pass protection. The Giants lead the entire free world in sacks, yet they never got to Favre once yesterday.

Eli Manning, on the other hand, looked like a quarterback that had been there a hundred times before. Moving his team down the field time after time for scores during the second half. If Lawrence Tynes was as good at kicking 37-yard field goals as he is kicking 47-yard field goals, this game never would have even gone into overtime.

I don't want to take away from what Eli has done this postseason, because he really has played great, but I can't help but be disappointed by the Giants victory. I wasn't really rooting for the Packers yesterday, and if you're a real Bears fan you weren't either, but I preferred that they won. I wanted the Super Bowl to feature Tom Brady and Brett Favre. The two quarterbacks who sucked yesterday.

Not to mention that I caught a lot of crap from Packers fans after the Bears lost in the Super Bowl last season, so I wouldn't have minded returning the favor this season after Green Bay lost to New England.

Instead we're stuck with the same old story we're always stuck with. New York vs. Boston.


Fantastic.

I'm surprised the collective boner of everybody at ESPN didn't block the sunrise this morning.

Foul Balls

Trade Ben Gordon - This is just something I've been thinking the last few days while watching the Bulls. Trade Ben Gordon, and do it soon. I have nothing against Ben, and in fact I'm very grateful for all those points he's scored these last few years, but I think it's time for him to move on.

I mean, I'd rather trade Kirk Hinrich, but I don't think he'll be anywhere near as easy to trade, nor will he bring back as much in return. I just think that the Bulls will be better off with Thabo Sefolosha playing the 2-guard right now. Thabo has played terrific basketball the last few weeks, and I'd like to see him as much on the court as possible.

So the Bulls should trade Gordon now because he can be used in a package to get somebody like Pau Gasol (there's that name again) and Ben won't be back next season anyway. So you may as well get something for him now, instead of nothing for him later.

What's the worst that can happen? We miss the playoffs?

Lou Piniella Doesn't Want Brian Roberts - I've understood why the Cubs are interested in Brian Roberts this winter, they would like a real lead-off hitter, and moving Alfonso Soriano down to the three-spot would be beneficial to the offense, but I've been against the trade all along. Mostly because I'm just a real big Mark DeRosa fan.

Thankfully, Lou Piniella feels the same way as I do. At the Cubs convention over the weekend, Piniella said he doesn't expect the team to complete the deal for Roberts, and that would be fine with him.

"I don't think we're going to do anything, to be honest with you," Piniella said before Friday's opening ceremonies. "And I think if we do [acquire someone] it'll be in the outfield. I'm very comfortable with our club the way it is."

"[A trade for a right-handed centerfielder to platoon with Felix Pie] probably a possibility, as opposed to the other things that you all have been hearing about," he said, adding again he's "perfectly content with [Mark] DeRosa at second base."

Hopefully Jim Hendry got the message.

Screw The Bulls

As I look around the web and through the newspapers, and listen to the radio, there's one big story in Chicago today: the Joakim Noah benching. I decided yesterday that I was going to write about it as well, but when I woke up this morning I stumbled into one big road block.

I don't care enough about this team right now.

In a year's time I've gone from being enamored with this team and their future to not even realizing they were playing on Sunday. It's tiring to try and follow these guys.

The cohesion between the players on the Bulls that had been so evident the last few years is gone. It's as though they've adopted an every man for himself philosophy, and it's not fun to watch.

Luol Deng and Ben Gordon seem too preoccupied with the fact they turned down $50 million extensions this offseason, and now they're trying to overcompensate on the court. Ben Wallace quit on Scott Skiles, and I don't care how much you hate a guy, when you're making the type of money Ben is making, you play every night.

In a weird way, this benching of Noah after a unanimous vote by the rest of the team is the first sign of this team coming together this season. Not exactly the way you'd like to see it happen though, is it?

When Jim Boylan took over I saw an energy from the team that wasn't there during the first month and a half under Skiles this season. It gave me hope that they'd turn things around, but that quickly changed when the same sloppy play the Bulls had exhibited all season continued. Only now that horrible decision had some motivation behind it!

Now it's as though the team has already tuned Boylan out as well. They didn't feel as though his one-game benching of Noah was enough, so they took matters into their own hands and told their coach he'd be benching Noah for another game as well.

Well, I've taken a players-only vote as well, and by a unanimous decision we've come to the conclusion that were stepping back from the Bulls this season. I'm not going to drop them completely or anything. I'll still watch games when I can, but much like the Bulls players have done this season, I'm going to stop caring.

If they don't give a shit, why should I?

Foul Balls

T.O. Is On Suicide Watch Again - There's no doubt that around the blogosphere and MSM this morning there will be a lot of talk about how Tony Romo going to Mexico with Jessica Simpson last week is the reason the Cowboys lost. It's not true, but it helps fill the pages and airspace, so why the hell not.

Romo set himself up for it, so now he's going to have to answer for it. At least we know he has one teammate who's going to be there for him.

Obviously, none of this should come as a surprise to you. Terrell has always been a team first guy who's stood by his quarterback through thick and thin. Just ask Donovan McNabb and Jeff Garcia.

Personally I think the only reason Owens is crying is because he saw the look on Jerry Jones' face on the sidelines after R.W. McQuarters' interception ended the game, and he's just scared Jerry is going to line up the entire team and shoot them.

Can't Believe The Colts Lost - A day later, and I'm still not sure how the Colts lost to the Chargers on Sunday. LaDainian Tomlinson didn't play in the second half, Antonio Gates was extremely limited with his dislocated toe, and Philip Rivers had to leave the game in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile Peyton Manning threw for over 400 yards, so shouldn't the Colts have won this game by 24?

Seriously, Billy Volek? Billy Volek is leading the Chargers on game-winning drives on the road?

NORV TURNER HAS WON TWO STRAIGHT PLAYOFF GAMES!?

I don't know what the hell is going on here, people, but I'm scared for my life.

I'm also scared that next week's AFC Championship will feature a quarterback matchup of Tom Brady and Billy Volek. That should be exciting.

Eric Gordon's Still Good, Illini Still Suck - Illinois moved to 0-4 in the Big Ten after losing again on Sunday afternoon to Indiana. The story going into the game, of course, was about Eric Gordon facing the Illini.

It's the first time Gordon has played against the team he verbally committed to a few years ago before backing out on it and going to Indiana. He didn't disappoint either, as the Big Ten's leading scorer dropped 17 on the Illini and was a big part of the Hoosiers comeback win.

If there's anything positive to take from this game, it's that at least the Illini built a lead to blow in the second half! I figured they were going to get blown out of the water from the get go. It's progress, people!

Slow Starts Can Kill A Team

The biggest reason I was excited about this Bulls season getting started was that there would finally be something to say about the Bulls that didn't have something to do with Kobe Bryant. After watching this team play it's first three games, I think I'd rather talk about Kobe again.

I know the Bulls are notoriously slow starters under Scott Skiles, but losing to Philly at home? Losing to Milwaukee on the road? It's not just the fact that this team is losing either, it's how horrible they've looked while doing it. It's one thing to play well, and come up short in the end, but when you've been playing horribly for three games, that's worrisome.

Something's not right here.

I don't know whether it's the fact that the Kobe talks have become a distraction for this team, or if Luol and Ben Gordon have their contracts on their minds, but this team just looks lazy right now.

Through the first three games, the Bulls are shooting 38% from the field. Joe Smith is the only player on the team making half of his shots, but he's only taken 14. Ben Gordon is shooting at a 39% clip, Luol comes in at 43%, and Kirk Hinrich is at 34%. I think Hinrich has as many fouls as he does assists right now: 15. As a team, they're scoring only 86.7 points a game, which isn't going to lead to many wins in this league.

So what's to blame? Is it just rust? Distractions? Does this team really need Kobe?

It's none of those.

It's the Cubs.

They've cursed this entire city! Their "success" this season has killed everybody else. The White Sox were supposed to be good again this season, and they blew. The Bears were supposed to get back to the Super Bowl, and they're in last place.

Nothing's going right in Chicago!

Okay, so it's probably not the Cubs fault, but while the city of Boston is having a fantastic sports season, Chicago's falling flat on it's face everywhere you look. Sure the Cubs got to the playoffs, but they couldn't even manage to win a game before bowing out quickly.

So really, I have no idea what's wrong with the Bulls right now. Do I think that we'd have a better record if Kobe were here? Yeah, but I don't think his absence is what's causing the problems either. I'm hoping that this will all prove to be just another slow start for this team, and they'll get rolling sooner rather than later, but these slow starts are still killers.

Look at last season for example. In the Bulls first twelve games they managed to go 3-9 before going on a seven-game win streak to get over .500. But had the Bulls just managed to go 6-6 in those twelve games last season, they'd have finished the season 52-30 with the #2 seed in the East. That means they'd have had the same easy route to the Eastern Conference Finals that the Cavs took.

Had they gone 7-5 they'd have had home-court advantage in the playoffs.

So while an 0-3 start in an 82 game season isn't going to kill a team, it could end up hurting them quite a bit at the end of the season.

Foul Balls

In The Navy - I had said during Spread Em last week that I didn't think the Irish could cover a 3.5 point spread against Navy, and that I had no confidence in this team. Still, I don't think I ever really thought they'd lose the game.

I've never been more embarrassed to be a Notre Dame fan than I was on Saturday afternoon. That was just.....I don't even know. It was bad. I can understand why the Irish lose to teams like Michigan, Penn State, Boston College, USC, and Georgia Tech because they're all better teams with more talented players. Navy does not have more talent than Notre Dame.

Though that didn't seem to matter on Saturday, did it?

I've tortured myself all season by watching every Irish game, but after this weekend, I think I'm going to have to take the rest of the season off. If for no other reason than my sanity.

Purple Jesus - I probably shouldn't be enjoying the exploits of a Minnesota Viking as much as I am right now, but I don't care. I love Adrian Peterson. I don't care if he's a Viking and that he'll be torturing the Bears twice a season for the foreseeable future. He's on my fantasy team!! And since it's a keeper league, I have him for two more season after this one.

So I look forward to more performances like the one he had on Sunday against the Chargers. The Messiah broke the NFL's single game rushing mark with 296 yards yesterday. No, you didn't read that wrong, he actually rushed for 296 yards in one game. That included three touchdown runs, a one-yarder, a 46-yarder, and a 64-yarder. That's 35 points for my fantasy team right there.

The Vikings are only halfway through their season, but Peterson has already eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark, which puts him on pace to finish the season with over 2,000 yards. And to think, the Vikings didn't draft him until the 7th spot. I wonder what the Raiders think about taking JaMarcus Russell with the first pick now.

What's even crazier is that in two games against the Bears and Chargers-two teams that are supposed to have strong run defenses-Peterson has rushed for 520 yards and seven touchdowns. In eight games this season, Cedric Benson has rushed for 466 yards and two touchdowns. Just in case you didn't realize how bad Cedric Benson sucks.

That Patriots/Colts Game - I was at work on Thursday and a co-worker of mine told me that "Take the over this Sunday, man. Easiest money you'll ever make." My response? "Actually, I think it's going to be a 24-20 type game. I'm taking the under." "You're an idiot, man."

Who's the idiot now, man?

It was a very good game, and though it would have been impossible to live up to it's hype without aliens landing at the RCA Dome in the third quarter, the game didn't disappoint. The Colts had plenty of chances to win this game, but their failures in the red zone early came back to haunt them.

The question is, now that they've gotten the Colts out of the way, what's to stop the Patriots from going undefeated? They've got a bye next week, but after that, there isn't much to stand in their way. At Buffalo, Philadelphia, at Baltimore, Pittsburgh, the Jets, Miami, and finally on the road against the Giants.

The Steelers and Giants are the only threats, and I don't think they pose much of one.

Blogpoll Ballot Week 10 -

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	LSU	1
3	Oregon	2
4	Kansas	3
5	Oklahoma	1
6	Missouri	2
7	Boston College	5
8	Arizona State	4
9	West Virginia	--
10	Connecticut	5
11	Michigan	1
12	Hawaii	1
13	Virginia Tech	3
14	Texas	2
15	Georgia	2
16	Boise State	1
17	Auburn	2
18	Southern Cal	3
19	Kentucky	1
20	Florida	3
21	Clemson	5
22	Virginia	4
23	Tennessee	3
24	Illinois	2
25	Cincinnati	1

Dropped Out: South Florida (#14), Alabama (#18), Vanderbilt (#22), Wake Forest (#24), South Carolina (#25).

The Basketball Diaries

New Jersey Nets 112 Chicago Bulls 103 OT

So it's twelve losses in a row for the Bulls in New Jersey. A.J. Guyton, your legacy lives on. The Bulls looked like crap in the first half, but came to life in the second half to make a game of it. Ben Gordon went nuts in the third quarter, scoring 13 of his 27 points to get the Bulls back into the game. Luol Deng did what Luol Deng does, and scored 22 points with 11 rebounds, and a couple of big steals. All in all, the Bulls didn't play bad last night. What killed them was the first half, where they came out looking rusty, and let the Nets push them around a bit. Once they got aggressive in the second half, played some defense and attacked the basket, they blew the Nets out of the gym. Unfortunately, they ran out of gas in overtime. Another huge factor was the free throw line. The Nets lived there all night, going 37-41. The Bulls only got to the line 26 times, and seven of those were just from Jersey hacking Ben Wallace late. The Bulls need to stop picking up so damn many ticky-tack fouls early. Stop me if you heard this line from the AP recap about Kirk Hinrich. The emphasis is my own.

"Hinrich, who finished with 14 points on a foul-plagued night..."

Kirk picks up so many stupid fouls in the first quarter, and it drives me out of my mind. Same for Tyrus Thomas. This kills the Bulls because they dig themselves a hole, and have to dig out the rest of the night. Oh, and if you wanted to watch this game to see the rookies, you were severely disappointed. Neither Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray, or JamesOn Curry saw a second on the court. Though Noah, who was out with an injury, did have a lovely suit on.

Dallas Mavericks 92 Cleveland Cavaliers 74

Speaking of players with foul trouble, LeBron James found himself in it all night, and suffered for it. Hell, we all suffered. Nobody tunes in to watch LeBron go 2-for-11 from the field, and score only 10 points, but that's what he did at home all night. Dirk Nowitzki didn't score many points either, tallying only 15, but Jason Terry dropped in 24. That and about five more points is all you generally need to beat Cleveland when LeBron only scores 10, so I guess Cleveland overachieved last night. Good for them.

Denver Nuggets 120 Seattle Sonics 103

Strange, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson were playing in this game, and all I cared about is seeing Kevin Durant. Not a bad debut by the rook, he scored 18 points with five rebounds and three steals. He did struggle from the floor though, missing 14 of his 21 shots, and going only 2-for-7 from three, but it's his first game! The kid will be fine. Now back to Carmelo and A.I.. (Do I put two periods there? Honestly, I don't know.) Anthony led the Nuggets with 32 points, and Iverson had 25 points of his own to lead Denver to victory in this extremely well defended contest.

Elsewhere...

• Pacers 119 Wizards 110 OT
• Magic 102 Bucks 83
• Raptors 106 Sixers 97
• Hornets 104 Kings 90
• Spurs 104 Grizzlies 101

Let's Get This Started Already

The Bulls will start their season tonight in New Jersey against the Nets and Chicago needs them right now. Baseball's done, and the Bears suck, so a couple of Bulls victories would be fantastic right about now.

There are a couple of problems with that though. Anybody who's paid attention to this team the last few years knows they're notoriously slow starters. To make matters worse, they're starting the season tonight in New Jersey, where they haven't won since 2001. That's eleven straight losses. You know who the Bulls leading scorer was that night?

A.J. Guyton.

Who?

Exactly.

To be completely honest with you though, tonight's game isn't about the result. It's only the first game of the season, and though a repeat performance of the Bulls annihilation of the Heat last year on opening night would be nice, I'm more interested in just seeing the team play.

Joakim Noah won't be playing thanks to his sprained ankle, and there's a chance Ben Wallace might have to sit out as well. Still I'll be looking for other signs. How is Luol Deng improved this season? Has Ben Gordon decided to play defense? Will Tyrus Thomas evolve from freakish athlete to basketball player? Is Chris Duhon really still on the team?

Obviously these questions won't all be answered in one night, but we'll at least have a better idea of what to expect.

I'm still not sure that this team is good enough to win the Eastern Conference. Not with an improved Boston team, along with old stalwarts like the Pistons and Heat. They still need a big man that can score, and I'm pretty sure Joe Smith isn't the answer. He's just a younger version of P.J. Brown.

If the Bulls are going to get to the NBA Finals this season without a big man, it's going to have to be up to Luol Deng. Deng will have to take that next step towards superstardom if this team is going to have a legitimate shot. Ben Gordon is a nice spark plug once in a while, but he cannot be counted on to lead the team every night.

Now whether or not he's going to be able to do it as rumors of a Kobe Bryant trade swirl around the United Center, I'm not sure. It's not the first time Lu is going to have to play while dealing with trade rumors though, because I'm pretty sure he's been traded in the media 596 times in his short career.

Now we all know how I feel on the subject of the Kobe trade, so I won't get that deep into it again. I'll just maintain my position that if the Bulls can complete the deal without giving up Luol Deng, they'd be stupid as hell not to do it.

I know all the Kobe rumors are probably starting to get annoying, but the simple fact is that until the Lakers come out and say they're not trading him, or that he's been traded, this talk is going to follow the Bulls all season. They're one of the few teams that can trade for him, and they're one of the few teams Kobe wants to play for.

That's the other reason I can't wait for tonight's game. Once the Bulls start playing games I'll actually have something to write about involving the Bulls that has nothing to do with Kobe. It may not seem like it with all the times I bring him up, but I'm tired of writing about Kobe too. I need this season to start.

Foul Balls

White Sox Make Moves - The Darin Erstad Era has come to an end on the south side, as the White Sox have declined to pick up the option on his contract. It was either buy him out for $250,000 or pay him $3.5 million to play next season.

I think they made the right choice.

I liked the signing of Erstad last season because it was a low risk high reward type of signing. He was relatively cheap, and if he could have managed to stay healthy, he would have been a valuable member of the team. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay healthy. Erstad only played in 87 games last season and hit .247.

The Sox also declined their option on veteran lefty Mike Myers. Mike Myers being cut on Halloween. Oh the irony!

Mike Cameron Suspended - Continuing with the White Sox for a second, most of the talk involving the Sox and centerfield has the team going after Torii Hunter or Aaron Rowand. A darkhorse though was current Padres centerfielder, and former Sox, Mike Cameron. Well, I don't think the Sox will be going after him now.

He's been suspended 25 games for testing positive for stimulants.

"The one thing I wanted to make sure was explained is, no steroids," Cameron told AM 1090, the Padres' flagship radio station. "I never took nothing like that before in my life. That would be 50 games, and that would affect me a whole lot more."

So just to be clear, Mike's not on the roids, he's just snorting Adderall in the clubhouse.

Curt Schilling To The Cubs? - Curt Schilling basically released a list of 13 teams he'd be willing to pitch for next season, and the Cubs were one of those teams. The White Sox were not.

I actually think the Cubs should make a run at Schilling. They could definetely use another starter, and I think a trip to the National League would only help Schilling. Not to mention his postseason numbers speak for themselves, and that could come in handy for the Cubs next season. They might win a playoff game before getting eliminated!

Choose Your Own Rodventure - Many times over at the MLB FanHouse, some of our best ideas come from stupid conversations we have with each other through our Google Group.

This is the greatest thing we've ever accomplished from one of our stupid conversations. One day PostmanE said something about those "Choose Your Own Adventure Books" from grade school, and it's morphed into Choose Your Own Rodventure.

That's right, YOU get to be Alex Rodriguez and decide where you're going to play this season. There are endless options, so if you've got time to kill at work today, I highly recommend playing along.

How Big Ben Got His Groove Back

With the recent success of the Cubs, and failures of the White Sox, I had really been looking forward to football season this summer so I could divert my attention. Of course, that plan went to hell when Notre Dame and the Bears decided to suck ass.

Luckily, basketball season isn't too far away right now as the Bulls open up their training camp with two practices today. There will be a few new looks with the Bulls this season, like seeing Luol Deng play more two guard in the same backcourt as Ben Gordon.

But that's not the look I'm talking about. Putting Luol Deng in the backcourt is not going to be what gets the Bulls to the NBA Finals next summer. No, it takes something much more important than that.

Like a headband.

The Bulls will sport a couple of new looks this season, including center Ben Wallace wearing his signature headband with coach Scott Skiles' blessing.

''I left it up to the guys who have been here,'' Skiles said of his meeting with some of the team's veterans. ''If they wanted to make an exception for Ben, I was fine with it. And they did.''

Finally, Ben Wallace will be able to wear his headband. If that doesn't win us an NBA title, nothing will.

Now all the Bulls have to do is sign Ben Gordon and Luol Deng to contract extensions.

Ben Gordon Talks About Chordan and Peepen

Not sure if it was the guileless enthusiasm of the reporter or that half the interview was in Spanish, but this as relaxed and fun as I've ever seen the Bulls.

Ben Gordon discusses his hopes for next year and the big shoes they have to fill.

Speaking of big shoes, Andrés Nocioni discusses Luol Deng's, and the location of Michael Jordan's old locker. Even when you don't understand it, it's fun to watch.

via Thank You Isaiah

Kobe Bryant To The Bulls?

Over the holiday weekend, ESPN's Ric Bucher reported that Kobe Bryant demanded that the Lakers bring back Jerry West or trade him. Bryant later backed off those comments, saying he was only "suggesting" that the Lakers bring back West.

Of course, all anybody heard was that Kobe wants to be traded, and now the rumors have started.

One of those rumors has Kobe being traded here, to the Bulls. While it would be nice to have Kobe here in Chicago, it wouldn't make the Bulls an immediate title contender. The reason being that they'd have to give up probably both Ben Gordon and Luol Deng to do it. (Incidentally it's not the only trade rumor surrounding Ben Gordon right now.)

I've made it very clear in the past that I do not want the Bulls to trade Luol Deng. Not for Pau Gasol, not even for Kevin Garnett. In fact there was only one player in the NBA whom I'd accept in return for Deng.

And that player is Kobe Bryant.

Now I don't think that this deal is going to get done because I just don't think there's enough for the Lakers to get in return for them to pull the trigger on such a deal. Of course, this is the same team that traded Shaq for fifty cents on the dollar.

Then again, Kobe demanded that trade.

At this point I don't see this deal getting done, but you never know. I might have to start cheering for Kobe next season.

The Basketball Diaries - Kobe Sucks

Los Angeles Lakers 115 Golden State Warriors 113

Kobe's streak of 50 point games came to an end last night. He went back to his crappy self and only scored 43. Pathetic. Frankly, I don't even think the Lakers should get credit for their fifth straight win. Hopefully, the league will look into it. The worst part? Kobe doesn't even care that he didn't get 50. Selfish prick. "What? No!" Bryant said emphatically when asked if he felt any disappointment about falling short of 50. "I've always said Wilt's a human video game. For me to be in the same breath with him, even if it's a short little breath, is pretty cool."

Chicago Bulls 92 Indiana Pacers 90

The Bulls don't win in Indiana very often, but thanks to a Ben Gordon jumper in the closing seconds they've now clinched two of their last 13 games in Indianapolis. Of course, I didn't get to watch any of it because it wasn't televised. Why? I don't know. I guess Comcast really needed to show that Cubs spring training game.

Sacramento Kings 107 Phoenix Suns 100

Mike Bibby was huge yesterday. He tied a Kings record with 9 three-pointers en route to 37 points. Two of the treys came in the final minute to give the Kings a pretty surprising win over Phoenix. "This feels good," Bibby said. "It was a big win, and we needed it. We've got 12 [games] left, so we've got to make sure we get a good amount of those 12 to give ourselves a chance."

Elsewhere...

• Mavs 104 Hawks 97
• Pistons 121 Bucks 95
• TWolves 94 Blazers 93
• Hornets 106 Rockets 94
• Nuggets 105 Cavs 93
• Spurs 120 Sonics 79

The Basketball Diaries - Explosion in Milwaukee

Chicago Bulls 126 Milwaukee Bucks 121 OT

It's basically the equivalent of the perfect game in basketball, it happens so rarely, but yesterday in Milwaukee Michael Redd and Ben Gordon combined for 100 points. Redd had 52 while BG set a career-high with 48. Of course, it was Gordon's team that won. The Bulls came back from a 13- point deficit to overtake the Bucks. It was only the eighth time in NBA history that two players combined for 100 points, yet the second time this season. (Kobe and Hibachi) Afterwards there was high praise for Gordon, who took over the game from the fourth quarter on. "If he was 6-(foot)-6, 6-7, man, he would be like Michael Jordan. He's that scary," Bulls guard Adrian Griffin said of the 6-3 Gordon. "He never ceases to impress me. If you look at a guy his size, to do the things he does, it's quite incredible."

Boston Celtics 124 Minnesota Timberwolves 117 2OT

What the hell has gotten into Boston? They've won three games in a row, and for a team that usually wins three times a month, that's amazing. Delonte West had 31 points, Paul Pierce had 27, Al Jefferson had 20 and 14, and I think Doc Rivers scored 20 too. Kevin Garnett did all he could, recording a triple double with 33 points, 13 boards and 10 assists, but the rest of his team sucks. You know where those stats would win, Kevin? Chicago. Think about it.

Phoenix Suns 99 Los Angeles Lakers 94

Yeah, so Phoenix is still good and stuff. Steve Nash had 23 points and 10 assists to lead Phoenix past LA Sunday afternoon. Eighteen of Steve's points came in the second half, but in typical Suns fashion, even though they won they didn't play "well." "We just didn't have a lot of mojo," Nash said. "We never really found a lot. We just kind of hung in there and made enough plays when it counted I guess." Yeah, you suck.

Elsewhere...

• Wizards 107 Warriors 106
• Sixers 99 Nets 86
• Jazz 108 Hornets 94
• Sonics 96 Bobcats 89

The Basketball Diaries-Kirk Hinrich is A Speedy White Point Guard Too

Chicago Bulls 116 Phoenix Suns 103

Oh sure, they'll tell you it doesn't really count since Steve Nash and Boris Diaw weren't playing. Don't worry. They're idiots. It's not like the Bulls weren't shorthanded themselves. They were without Andres Nocioni and PJ Brown. It's completely the same thing. Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng both had 29 points, and Ben Gordon had 27. When those three shoot like they did on Sunday night, I don't think Steve Nash or Boris Diaw make a difference. "When Steve doesn't play, it's not the same," Scott Skiles said. "He IS the style that they play, but that's why you've got to win the game. When somebody's short-handed like that, you've got to be able to win the game. I thought our guys were great today."

Portland Trail Blazers 94 Washington Wizards 73

Gilbert Arenas said he was going to score 50 against Portland. It was another of his revenge games. Arenas has vowed revenge against anybody who had anything to do with him being cut from Team USA last summer, and that included Portland head coach Nate McMillan. Gilbert didn't stick to his end of the deal. He finished with only 9 points while hitting 3 of 15 shots. He was also 0/8 from behind he arc. "That's like a dude saying he's going to punch you in your face." said Jarrett Jack. "With a guy like him, Kobe or LeBron, the easy way to guard him is don't let him get the ball back when he passes it. We did a good job of trying to deny him when he was one pass away, and my big guys did a great job of helping me whenever he got by me."

Minnesota Timberwolves 109 Boston Celtics 107

Before last night, when I've been watching a Bulls game lately, and they blow a late lead like they did in Sacto and at Golden State, I try to put things in perspective. "Well, at least I don't have to watch the Celtics." Though to be fair, I know what it's like to watch the Celtics. I watched the Bulls during the Eddy Curry/Tyson Chandler Era. Boston has now lost 18 in a row, with Sunday's loss coming in cruel fashion. Paul Pierce gave the Celtics a 105-101 lead late, but Minnesota battled back. Randy Foye found a wide open Ricky Davis in the corner, and he buried a jumper with 0.2 seconds left to bury his former team. "It is tough, the guys played so hard and deserve to win," said Paul Pierce. "We did everything we could. Down the stretch they made the last play. You can feel it in the locker room, each loss definitely hurts. These guys are going to keep playing hard. We just need to get it out of our head."

Elsewhere...

• Heat 100 Spurs 85
• Pacers 94 Clippers 80
• Cavs 99 Lakers 90
• Mavs 106 Sixers 89
• Hawks 106 Warriors 105
• Sonics 114 Kings 103

Bull Sh!t

The NBA announced its All-Star reserves yesterday, and not a single member of the Chicago Bulls was selected.

I can't say I'm surprised.

In my opinion Ben Gordon and Luol Deng have both had All-Star-worthy seasons, but they just aren't big enough names to make it. Not when they have to compete with players like Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Dwight Howard, Jermaine O'Neal, and Jason Kidd.

It's pretty hard to argue against any of those guys, but still, it's kinda bogus. The Bulls have third best record in the Eastern Conference, which would lead you to believe somebody has to be playing well enough to be an All-Star.

And it's a little odd, cuz if the Bulls beat Seattle and Portland tonight and tomorrow, and the Wizards lose their next two games, Scott Skiles will be coaching the Eastern Conference, yet he won't have any players on the team.

If there is a bright side to all this, it's that the Bulls will actually be able to use the All Star break to freshen up for the second half of the season in a conference that is up for grabs.

The Basketball Diaries - Bulls Are the Best Team Ever

Chicago Bears 96 Dallas Mavericks 85

This means that the Bulls are the odds-on favorite to win the NBA championship this summer, right? They beat the Mavericks, and the Mavericks are were the best team in the league. The Bulls led for the entire 48 minutes last night in what was probably their biggest win of the season. Ben Gordon had 30, and Luol Deng had 21 points to lead the Bulls, but it was their defense that was the key. Dirk had 28 points, but shot only 7/22 from the floor and Josh Howard was only 4/20.

Los Angeles Clippers 102 New Jersey Nets 101

The Nets are going to return home from their west coast trip having nightmares. On Monday night Mike Bibby hit a jumper with 10 seconds left to beat New Jersey by one. On Wednesday night Golden State's Monta Ellis hit a game winner at the buzzer to beat New Jersey by one. Last night? Last night was Cuttino Mobley's turn as he drained a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to beat New Jersey by one. "In this league, you've got to expect anything and everything," Jason Kidd said. "We've put ourselves in a position to win, and we've come up short by a point in the last three games. It's not like we're getting blasted by 20 and you're searching for what we need to do. For us, it's just been the last 30 seconds and the ball hasn't bounced our way."