Amare to Bulls Is Starting To Look Like a Real Possibility

This is going to drive StevieY19 crazy, since he believes that the Suns would be crazy to do any deal for what he terms "a pile of Bulls garbage", but according to www.rumorpress.net (not the most reliable, but they have been right about a lot of things in the past):

As we all know, the Bulls and Suns have had lengthy discussions about a possible trade that would send All Star big man Amare Stoudemire to Chicago. The Bulls are very much in the running to land Stoudemire, as GM John Paxson is willing to package just about any deal with mutliple players involved to get him, except for Derrick Rose of course. One scenario that is very possible and has been discussed the most would be a deal that would send Drew Gooden, Tyus Thomas, Thabo Sefoloshia and a 1st round pick to the Suns in exchange for Stoudemire. However, Steve Kerr would like Joakim Noah added to the deal as well. Phoenix will continue to talk with other teams to see if they can either find a better deal, or wait and see if the Bulls will add Noah to the trade. The Bulls want Stoudemire so much, that adding Noah may just happen. Even then, the ball will still be in the Suns court as they have multiple teams to work with and several deals to weigh out, the highest bidder will win.

What do you think, StevieY19? Should the Bulls just throw in Noah now? I'm not saying they shouldn't, but where does that leave our frontcourt? Could we go out and get a capable back-up now? If this deal happened with Noah involved, would that mean Gray would start the rest of the year and Noce would back up Amare? It's still worth it, but we would need some kind of plan to back those guys up. I'm not trying to see Noce getting 25 minutes at the 4/5 position. Just do it Pax.

Also I'm not seeing how this resolves any of our bad contract issues. Pax would still have to turn around and deal Hinrich, Hughes, and/or Nocioni to get us far enough under the cap to hope to resign Amare, keep Ben Gordon, or go out and get some pieces to make up for the loss of all those bodies.

Projected Lineup If The Trade Went Down:

PG: Rose, Hinrich
SG: Gordon, Hinrich
SF: Deng, Nocioni
PF: Stoudemire, Nocioni
C: Gray, Stoudemire, Nocioni

I'll take it.

Qualified Links (Today's Links)

• The Hawks win again. Maybe I should be watching them more during the sports wasteland known as "February".
• Illinois continues its cold play against Wisconsin. It's never easy to win in Madison but this one would have been big.
• It looks like there is going to be a movie made about the book Moneyball and Brad Pitt is going to be starring as Billy Beane. Score one for sabremetrics!
• Elton Brand is being shut down for the season with shoulder problems. Will he ever be the force that he once was? Regardless of the injuries I think Chicago fans will always regret trading him for Chandler.
• Dusty Baker wants to recreate the Chicago Cubs he coached a few years back in Cincinnati. Today's acquisitions? Daryle Ward and Jacque Jones.
• BDL is going to do a 2 on 2 tournament of NBA teams, sort of like an NBA Jam. Hey that was my idea! Well we all know Skeets will do it better than me anyways.
• Looks like Gordon is a little put off by the fact he wasn't selected for the 3 point contest.
  

Today's Links

• Vinny asked the media to ask his players if they respect him, minutes later Ben Gordon was seen cussing him out for getting fined because he broke some team rule. (***Update: The rule he broke was being late for a team flight). How long do we have to deal with this yahoo?
• The Chicago Bears may have a little "Groupthink" problem. Think about it.
  
• Jay Mariotti lashes out at Ebert and the Sun-Times. How long do we have to deal with this yahoo? (I know, I already asked that question).
• 50 Greatest basketball commercials of all time. MJ is all over the list.
  
• Top Ten Chicago sports championship moments. The Sox only won one championship TTCS, so why do they get 3 spots on the list?
• Are porno freaks and sports nuts on the same level as abominations in the eyes of God? Apparently.
• The Bears have the 18th pick in this draft. Here's a little history of the 18th pick in past drafts. A lot of solid contributors.
• Is Adam Dunn really only going to go for $5 million a year? I really wanted that guy, but that would be crazy.

The Misconception About Why John Paxson Sucks

After reading this over at Top Ten Chicago Sports today, I realized that there is a common misconception about John Paxson. The fact that he is a shitty GM is not in question, but WHY he is a bad GM seems to be something people don't fully grasp.

Being a GM involves 4 basic tasks: (1) Acquiring players through the draft; (2) Acquiring players through free agency and trades; (3) Cap management; and (4) Hiring a competent coaching staff. With everyone furious at Paxson over the Bulls recent run of problems, people are just making sweeping generalizations that Pax sucks at all 4 of these things. I beg to differ.

Lets look at each factor that goes into being a GM and assess Paxson's success and/or failure. First is acquiring players through the draft. This is where the sticking point is. There is a sense that Paxson is a terrible drafter based on his most recent drafts. While Tyrus and Joakim have not lived up to expectation, overall Paxson has done a relatively good job. The mistake fans make in assessing drafts is just assessing how good the player is, and not the value he brought from whatever pick he was drafted at. For instance, Aaron Gray sucks. I mean he is at best a good back-up center in this league. He was a second rounder though! How many guys even get minutes in the NBA from the second round. You can count them on one hand. Gordon, Deng and Thabo were all very good picks. He isn't Kevin Pritchard by any means, but Pax has done well with the picks he had. Also he made the correct decision on Derrick Rose. Beasely doesn't suck, but Rose is better.

Acquiring players through free agency and trades is where Pax went all wrong, and this leaks into the third factor, cap management. The Bulls have made 2 notable trades since Pax came on board. Tyson Chandler for PJ Brown, and Ben Wallace for Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden. The Chandler move was bad, the Wallace move was good (I mean we basically traded one team cancer for another, but got Gooden out of it). The big mistake here is not the trades he made, but the ones he didn't. All the rumors aside about Garnett, Kobe, Pau, etc. coming to Chicago, Paxson's trigger-shy attitude has been costly. The one big free agent signing he did make was a complete disaster, Ben Wallace. It also pushed us up right up against the cap until 2010.

The last factor, coaching, is another area where Paxson did not do bad. Wait, hear me out. Skiles was able to take a young, raw, unmotivated team and turn them into winners. When the time came to take the next step, the players started tuning him out, so Pax got rid of him and tried to hire someone who could take the Bulls to that next level. He tried to hire Mike D'Antoni. But Reinsdorf didn't want to shell out the money so Pax was forced to settle for the much cheaper, and shittier, Vinny Del Negro. Vinny sucks, but that is not Pax's fault.

Anyways, the point of all this is to say that Pax is a decent GM when it comes to drafting and even selecting coaches. His faults lie in actually dealing with free agents and other GMs to bring in good talent and manage cap space. If you take anything from this post, let it be that Paxson is a shitty GM. If you want to look a little deeper though, don't be one of those people who says he doesn't know how to draft, because that is not the problem. You have until February 19th Pax, make something happen.

So Can We Start FireVinnyDelNegro.Com Yet?

He's a rookie, right? I mean a real rookie, not like Derrick Rose is a rookie. Derrick Rose has an advantage over VDN: He has actually played basketball before. Vinny has not coached ever at any level. He is a rookie of rookies.

If we remember back to the summer, the Bulls logic for hiring him seemed sound enough. They claimed he was young but had always wanted to coach. He had been around basketball his whole life and understood the game. Working in Phoenix he had absorbed some of the D'Antoni philosophy of run and gun, but still believed in defensive principles. He was well-respected throughout the league and that would translate to respect from his players. Pax would also surround him with experienced assistants like Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff who would give a veteran coaching presence.

It didn't quite turn out like that. This latest fiasco in the Cleveland game proves that he has completely lost control of his players. When Nocioni started screaming at Noah in front of all the fans and TV cameras, it finally became clear. But the real question is why did this happen and can there be redemption, or is Vinny just overmatched?

Ok I will give you my answer. He is overmatched. The players, while they are at fault for sucking in terms of talent, brains, and even heart, a person needs to be inspired to play. They need to believe in the system they are playing in. You don't hear guys on the Celtics saying they want to speed the game up. They believe in what they are doing, because it is successful. If I was on the Bulls right now, I wouldn't believe in Vinny's system at all, and as a result I might get frustrated. I'm not saying I would quit on the Coach, nor do I think any of the players have...yet.

Offensively we don't have a system. The offense is basically to have Gordon, Rose, or..gulp..Hughes bring the ball up, dribble around and take a shot. A few screens here and there, but no real plan. One could argue that the Bulls haven't developed a cohesive halfcourt offense but they are relying on getting fast break baskets. Well then why does Vinny have good running players on the bench? Aaron Gray and Joakim Noah are not going to get us fast break points. Don't even get me started on Vinny's defensive philosophy which I have yet to figure out. As of now it looks something like "don't play hard or rotate on time" or better yet "you don't have to know how to rotate, just make sure you get your shots on the other end". His rotations and lineups make the least sense. It is unclear to players what they need to do to earn minutes. Beyond Rose, no one knows their role on the team. A person can't be effective in that kind of environment.

I mean Vinny is very green and this may be unfair. Like a rookie in any environment, you have to know there is going to be a learning curve. I think Bulls fans and players were hoping to at least see some signs that he could coach by now though. He has shown nothing and the players are clearly losing faith in him. The fans will be next.

Will Vinny save himself? I don't know, but I think the domain name for firevinnydelnegro.com is still available. I'm just saying.

Today's Links-Bears Break My Heart Edition

• Bears lose in a nailbiter. Just kidding everyone, it wasn't a nailbiter. Bears just flat out lost, and it sucks.
• Akinori Otsuka a Cub? If he has recovered from that surgery it would be perfect. Sorry if I'm not totally sold on Bob Howry 2.0 (Kevin Gregg)
• Ben Gordon passes Scottie Pippen on the all-time Bulls 3 pointers made list.
  
• The Hawks are playing dominant hockey right now, extending their win streak to 9. Maybe they earned this Karma from the famous "Funeral Burger" incident?
  
• At least we aren't the Lions, 0-16 is epic in it's own way though.
• Illini get a win against Eastern Michigan. I'm just wondering what the deal is with Alex Legion? He's barely getting minutes and when he does he isn't exactly producing.
• Lovie thinks the Bears are "close". Close to what? He is living in a fantasy world.
• Bulls are struggling with Deng AND Gooden out, especially on defense.

Today's Links-Christmas Eve Edition

• An interesting look at whether Jordan or Pippen could have stopped Lebron.
  
• Apparently Toews and Kane are inching closer to all-star bids. Vote now!
  
• What is this new hotel/complex that is being built across from Wrigley Field. I'm a "purist" (whatever that means), so I don't like the idea but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if done correctly.
  
• Illinois finally wins a game against someone I've heard of! Missouri is decent, but I didn't know they were ranked! What's the story with Alex Legion?
• Crazy drunk Bears fan found wandering around the Field Museum after the Bears game.
  
• Top ten Bears moments in 2008.
• Rose and Gordon were in foul trouble all night and the Bulls generally looked like garbage in front of a thin, unenthusiastic Detroit crowd. Oh, and they lost.
• Texeira signs with the Yankees for a billion dollars (180 over 8 years). Take a look at these interesting factoids about the Yankees salaries. On the one hand, they can take all the talent they want to the American League; on the other, f$#% them.

Post-Circus Bulls Report

The pre-circus and circus trip part of the Bulls schedule is finally over. What have we learned during this time period about a Bulls team that had almost as many question marks as guards to start the season? The answers are not simple or clear-cut, but some things have become apparent:

The Schedule:

According to John Hollinger's power rankings which are based on some advanced metrics, the Bulls are only 18th in the league. What is interesting to note about that is the Bulls have the toughest strength of schedule by a significant margin. Entering Sunday, their opponents had a .606 winning percentage and the team with the next highest strength of schedule has opponents with a winning percentage of .576. The Bulls should be very happy at 8-9 against some very tough opponents.

Also the Bulls upcoming schedule is against a bunch of really crappy teams: Phi, @Mil, Was, NYK, @Mem, NJ, @Cha, LAC. The only team with a winning record in that bunch is the Nets, and they don't exactly scare anyone this year. The Bulls should be able to generate some momentum against these bad teams.

Coach Vinny:

It still remains unclear what offense he is running exactly. I understand that he is utilizing a high screen roll with Gordon and Rose most of the time. The other players not involved in those screen rolls seem lost, however. Also, his rotations are still inconsistent. While we have to be fair and allow him to learn his team before he settles on regular minutes, he has to understand that guys need to know their roles. On the other hand, the players seem to really respect and like him so far and his philosophy of pushing the ball has had some very positive results. The jury is still out on the coach, however, and only time will tell if he has some sort of cohesive offensive plan that can be effective.

Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon Starting:

It's working. Offensively these two are both scoring in bunches. Defensively, they are bad. Not as bad as everyone seems to think, but still bad. They are undersized and do not stay in front of their men. Rose will improve defensively and Gordon has always been underrated as a defender (for instance on a scale of 1 to 10, everyone thinks he's a 2 when he's really a 4; still not great but manageable). This lineup is worth trotting out every time. They are the most effective backcourt the Bulls have, even accounting for the defensive deficiencies.

That all being said, they are not playing as efficiently as they could be. If you have been watching the games lately (you're probably pretty tired considering they start at 9:30 pm), you will notice that Gordon and Rose don't play off each other. When Rose has the ball, he makes a move and tries to get guys open and find them in good positions to score or he takes it to the hole himself. When Gordon has the ball, he dribbles around and then takes a bad shot. Gordon needs to run off screens more off the ball and give up the rock when Rose is on the court with him. What he doesn't understand is his numbers will get better rather than worse if he gives the ball to Rose. Rose can get him the ball when he has open shots. When Gordon dribbles around and shoots, they are usually off balance and ill-conceived. Play off the ball Ben!

What's The Deal With Larry Hughes:


Here are the stats prior to Sunday night's game, do with them what you will. This season he is averaging 14.2 points and shooting 43 percent as a starter while averaging 7.7 points and shooting 33 percent coming off the bench. He shoots 45 percent when the Bulls win and 35 percent when they lose. He averages 14.8 per game when the Bulls win and 8.8 when they lose. Hughes is eight for 12 on threes in Bulls wins and one for 15 on threes in Bulls losses.

So what does this mean? Is Hughes critical to winning games, or are his poor performances the thing that is making us lose them? Hughes would argue the team benefits when he gets more minutes. I'm not sure how to feel about any of this, since I hated him so much before. So long as he continues to take the ball to the hoop and play solid defense, he can have minutes. What my hope is is that playing Hughes was a directive from above, since Pax wants to deal Hughes and is trying to pump up his value. Even if Harry Lughes is here to stay, he is still 32, expensive and taking minutes from younger guys.

Luol Deng, Where Art Thou:

I don't know, where the hell is he? Just kidding. I guess I have to post some theories about what happened to his game. Here is the list of possibilities for things that might be causing him to be a non-factor so far this season:

1) The pressure of a new contract.

2) He doesn't know where his shots come from in Vinny's "offense".

3) He has fallen in love with his jumper.

4) His bad back and other assorted injuries are catching up to him.

5) Instead of working on his game this summer, he played in Europe.

6) He has been seeing time at the 4, as well as getting irregular minutes since the emergence of Harry Lughes, causing him to lose his rhythm.

Ok there are your options. It may be one or several of those reasons, or perhaps even one I can't think of. Either way, Lu needs to get it going for this team to have any real success this season.

The Bulls Frontcourt; Young and Possibly Retarded:

What happened here? Tyrus Thomas was supposed to finally take a step forward this year with Skiles not yelling at him all the time. His fragile ego was going to remain intact under Vinny and allow him to emerge as the true star that his athleticism and potential would let him be. Oops. We all got fooled. He sucks. I mean he is really bad. The worst part is the random decent game he has that keeps idiots like me hanging on to the hope that he can be good. He is terrible, and whenever he gets into a rut like he is in now, he can't get himself out because he is an idiot. There is no point continuing to discuss him because he sucks and it looks like he will be a non-factor going forward.

Joakim Noah has been a disappointment as well. I don't think anyone was pegging him as an all-star, but the thought was he could line up next to Gooden or Thomas and be a high energy guy that plays good defense and rebounds. Nope. He has been pretty much ineffective at center. I'm not sure he warrants getting only 6 minutes a game, but it's hard for me to argue with Vinny when Noah shows no life out there.

Gooden is Gooden. He is a great role player. He can score on the block and rebounds very well. Unfortunately he is playing out of position at the center spot (thanks to Noah's digression and Gray being Gray). His defensive lapses notwithstanding, he has been a key component to the Bulls early success.

Welcome To The Circus

In honor of the Bulls circus trip out west and how bad it always goes, it made me think of what a circus the actual Bulls really are. In honor of that, here is what the Chicago Bulls would look like if they truly were a circus troop:

Vinny Del Negro--The Ringmaster

He's kind of like a ringmaster that has no coherent offense and doesn't make clear to the members of his troop what their roles are.


Derrick Rose--The Acrobat


I'm not sure, but I think he might be able to actually fly.


Drew Gooden--The Bearded Lady


What's funny is that both pictures are gross and scary.


Joakim Noah--The Clown
No explanation necessary.


Larry Hughes--The Giant Pile of Elephant Shit

I think a real pile of elephant shit could shoot for a higher percentage than Hughes.


Ben Gordon--The Fire Eater
Is this a reference to his ability to catch fire on the offensive end or the way he gets burned on the defensive end? You decide.


Tyrus Thomas--Tightrope Walker

Because he's only exciting when he is high up in the air.

Today's Links

• Did you hear about Obama playing ball on election day? Well here's some video of it. apparently he was being a "ball hog".
  
• I was at the Bulls game last night. They lost. Rose played well, Noce played well, even Gordon played well. On both ends of the floor no less. So why did we lose? Rebounding. The numbers don't show it, but trust me, we got hosed on the boards.
  
• God is back and he's explaining Week 11. That was not the real Kerry Collins Sunday against the Bears!
• Whoa! One source is reporting the deal for Peavy is all but done. Guess who is going to San Diego? Theriot. Interesting...
• Quotable Bears Week 11. I didn't read them because I'm still too mad, but maybe you'll be interested.
• Sam Smith's mailbag. I'll give you a clue about a majority of the article: trade speculation.

If You Were Waiting For That Big Bulls Trade This Season, Don't Hold Your Breath

By now everyone knows about Hinrich's injury that will keep him out until February. Going into this season the Bulls had the most crowded backcourt in the whole league. The problem is that outside of Rose, everyone in the backcourt was ineffective yet had some value as a trade asset. Hughes is a big guard that still is living off the reputation of a good defender he got the season he led the league in steals with the Wizards 5 years ago. Gordon can shoot the lights out and score in bunches. Hinrich is an average point guard in a league starving for point guards. Even Thabo is a big 2 guard that can bring a lot of value to a team looking for a defensive-minded guard.

With no real post presence on the offensive end for the Bulls, everyone expected (or hoped) that Paxson would stop being a pussy and pull the trigger on a big trade; that he would trade one of his "stockpiled assets" for a big man that would fit with Rose and Deng. Well that seems impossible now. A combination of factors ending with the most recent injury to everyone's favorite little white guard will render the likelihood of a trade improbable if not impossible.

There were a few things preventing a trade even before this injury. Hughes getting hurt thinned the backcourt out a bit (even though he sucks). Paxson's unwillingness to trade Hinrich, Hughes, or Thabo for fear of Gordon walking at the end of the year and the Bulls going from guard glut to guardless was also a factor. Now with one of our most tradable assets going down, even the return of Hughes is unlikely to create a scenario where Pax is comfortable dealing a guard. All this assumes that Hinrich cannot be moved since he is injured, which seems logical.

Paxson definitely did not have the spine to make a trade before this, as evidenced by the years of "stockpiling assets" that resulted in nothing (unless you consider Ben Wallace for Larry Hughes something). So if you were hoping for a big trade this season, think again. Maybe around the all-star break something could happen, but definitely not before then. For better or worse, this is your 08-09 Bulls backcourt, so you better get used to it.

Vinny Del Negro Finds 3-Guard Game Plan in Skiles Old Desk

Let's set the scene: The Bulls are struggling against a superior opponent. Luol Deng seems to have disappeared offensively, Tyrus and Joakim have been relegated to the bench for what seems like no reason. The Bulls trail by double digits (let's say 17). The Bulls coach, in desperation, goes to the 3-guard lineup to try to shake things up. Somehow, miraculously, the Bulls mount a comeback with this lineup that falls just short. Sound familiar? Yeah it happened the other night in Orlando, but it was also the modus operandi of the Bulls under Skiles the last few seasons as well. Though the Bulls got some positive results from that lineup, the coach thinks (or in Skiles case insists) that the smallball lineup is effective.

The only reason those lineups worked was because there was a specific matchup that favored it (against Orlando, Howard is the only true big man, Rashard and Hedo are perimeter guys), or if the Bulls were down by 20 playing against the other team's scrubs. Otherwise the 3-guard lineup does not work. It makes the Bulls, already a rebounding-challenged team, even more susceptible to getting outboarded.

What Vinny has yet to understand is that players need to know their roles and play in the position that allows them the most success. He needs to stop mixing up the lineups and experimenting. Thabo is not a pg or sg, he is only there for his defense. Nocioni should be coming off the bench as a spark in certain situations. Hinrich should not be at the 2 (though this is being proven wrong, Rose is somehow able to raise Kirk's effectiveness at the 2). Deng and Nocioni should not be playing power forward ever. Tyrus should never be at the small forward. All of those things put players out of their comfort zone.

Regardless of his opinion of the 3-guard lineup, he needs to let people know their roles and put them in the best position to win. The jury is still out on Vinny, but for now, his biggest job should be to set a rotation and stick with it.

One last slightly unrelated note: If there is a possession with the potential to win or tie the game at the end (down 1, 2, or 3 with less than 30 seconds), the ball needs to be in Rose's hands. Ben Gordon needs to understand his role on this team. It will benefit him as well, since he will likely get better looks than he would have, since Rose creates good shots for everyone around him. That shot he took at the end of the Magic game was ugggggggly.

Vinny, Please Don't Fall Into Skiles-esque Habits

Tonight is the season opener for the Bulls. Vinny seems to have decided that Ben Gordon will not start. The likely projected starting lineup tonight is:

PG: Rose
SG: Sefolosha
SF: Deng
PF: Thomas
C: Gooden

Thabo? The guy looked awful all preseason. He can't shoot or dribble. The only thing right now that he has going for him are his long arms. This would seem to move Kirk down to 6th man which would then push Gordon even farther down the bench. I like Hinrich and I think he will have a rebound year (though it will be difficult for him playing out of position as a shooting guard instead of his natural point guard position). I know he may be a better defender and he is definitely more of a favorite among the ownership types. All those things are wonderful, but I don't care. START BEN GORDON! Or at least move him in front of Hinrich on the depth chart to play next to Rose. Kirk is not a shooting guard. Don't fall into Skiles-like habits. Please?! Gordon is the best offensive tool you have right now and will help Rose not have to face triple teams every time he gets the ball.

Another fear of mine is that while Tyrus might start (and there is no guarantee of that), he will be riding the bench in favor of slower, whiter players (see Aaron Gray). Do not further inhibit his development! He needs time to play through his mistakes, not to be punished like an insolent child. (It is unclear that TT is even starting, Gray might get the nod. Gross.)

Here's some advice for tonight Vinny: Take a look across the court at Scott Skiles. He is an angry, crotchety old scrooge. He was driven from the Bulls job just like he was driven from the Phoenix job and just like he'll be driven from the Bucks job. Don't let that be you. Trust the talent you've been given and don't be a dick to your players. They are grown men. Good luck.

Ben Gordon's Injured Left Toe...I Mean Right Toe...No Wait His Left I Think

Tribune writer K.C. Johnson seems to think Ben Gordon is lying about his injury. Or at least he is mocking the way the injury seems to be jumping from foot to foot:

Also, Ben Gordon didn't practice again. Afterward, his saga took another twist when Gordon revealed he has an injured left big toe as opposed to the injured big right toe that the team has listed in its injury report for weeks.

Shady. K.C. is pretty reliable most of the time, so I assume this means he thinks BG is full of it. With Hughes out he is going to get some major minutes, so he should probably suck it up and play on his "injured" toe, whichever toe that may be.

Today's Links

• Cubs to play home opener at new Yankee Stadium next year? That'd be pretty sweet if you ask me.
  
• The Jordan v. Magic one-on-one pay-per-view that never happened. That would have been sweet.
• Stories about Philly fans acting like complete shitheads. Some are funny, most are awful, all are worth the read.
• More Ben Gordon please? Coach Vinnie seems to want to see some more of him too.
  
• What's worse better, sports bloggers or political bloggers? They both suck for so many different reasons.
• Video montage of coaches/players swearing and acting like fools. Enjoy.
• Will Kerry Wood be back next year?
• Bulls roster cuts.
  
• Coach Ditka alters the path of history again. At least by this crazy fan's twisted logic. I kind of agree.

Gordon Gets Groin-Faced

I just saw this picture on Hardwood Paroxysm and it made me laugh. Enjoy:

Today's Links

• An ode to Jerry Krause. Seriously, its a positive story about him. No, I'm serious.
• Calm down Bears fans. The NFL is wide open this year and we're still in it.
  
• Nocioni vs. Gordon; How to deal with an injury.
• Top ten overachieving Chicago teams. As usual there are some I don't agree with, but overall a solid list.
• Eddie McGee is mad Juice passed him on the depth chart, so he hit a random 19 year old coed at a party. Makes sense to me.
  
• Some photos and recap of the little league game Dusty managed. Dr. Andrews has his schedule cleared for the next month.
• Something about Phil Jackson's management style.
• I hate the Red Sox and I love that they keep losing. One more Tampa!
  

Today's Links

• Sam Zell might be in trouble. You know how the economy sucks right now? Yeah that might effect Zell's ownership of the Cubs (he borrowed heavily to make the purchase).
• The Brewers have some idiotic fans. I don't know if they should be ashamed or proud of these photos...
  
• God explains Week 5. Trust me these are hilarious.
• Javy Vazquez sucks, but how easy will it be for Kenny Williams to get rid of him?
  
• Gordon injures toe, ankle. Noah still out with poked eye.
• A Cubs fan is selling his loyalty on eBay. I'm not gonna hold it against him.
• The good, the bad, and the ugly from the Bears-Lions game. Lets just say the good outweighed the bad this week.
• Marmol got in a car accident? Will nothing go right? At least he seems ok.
  

Team Player Ben Gordon Didn't Practice Because He Didn't Want To Risk Injury And Hurt Contract Status

Interview with Ben Gordon:

Here's my favorite line: "I haven't played basketball the entire summer until yesterday my first practice, as you know if you don't have a contract you don't wanna risk injury."
I thought everyone said he had been working out really hard this summer. What happened to that?

Ben Gordon Agrees To Qualifying Offer

I just don't care enough about the NBA right now with the baseball playoffs going on to actually analyze this, but here's the link for anyone who cares. Ben Gordon signed the qualifying offer. Get ready for another year of distractions and whining.