Injury Report

The Bears continue to be plagued by injuries, and this week is no different than the rest. Tommie Harris's hamstring is likely made out of the same old rubber bands as Mike Brown's tendons are. He did have full participation on Thursday though, so we should see him Sunday. Defensive backs Vasher and McGowan did not participate in Thursday's practice, which could mean bad news for the Bears against Kitna. Offensive linemen Fred Miller and Ruben Brown are both injured, but Brown was good to go as of Thursday, and Miller had some participation. The Bears are going to have to get healthy if they want to be competitive.

I got some rumors for ya....

After a horrible season, the Chicago White Sox are hoping to make some off-season moves. Their ultimate goal: improve and to not have a repeat of the 2007 season.
The first thing on my list would be to hopefully improve the relief pitching. Let’s face it, the White Sox bullpen is very inconsistent and unreliable. But they are going to try and fix that real soon. There have been rumors circling that the White Sox are going to try and get the famous, future Hall of Famer Marian Rivera. However, with this excitement there comes some problems:

1.Where would they put him?

2.How much would they have to pay him? And more importantly, how much are they willing to pay him?

My Answers:

Q1: The White Sox already have an unbelievable closer, Bobby Jenks, and we all know that we certainly don’t want to get rid of him. So actually I don’t have an certain answer for that question. It will be a toss-up and a hard decision for the Sox.

Q2: Well we all know every extremely valuable player comes with a high price. So Riveria will not be cheap by any means. In my opinion, I think he might be a little to pricey for the White Sox.


The second aspect of the White Sox team that I think will need improvement is centerfield and I think that the White Sox agree. There have been rumors about the Sox being interested in Carl Crawford from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I believe that this would be a great fit for our South Siders. Crawford is an awesome leadoff man and an even better centerfielder. He can be considered a threat both offensively and defensively. However, with this proposal also comes some problems.

1.They White Sox will need to give up a few players in order to get Crawford.

2.Also, there is always the possibility that Tampa Bay might not be interested.


Other than some possible player changes, the White Sox have also made some coaching changes. They have recently added Jeff Cox as the new 3rd base coach. And hopefully the bullpen will improve under the new command of Juan Nieves, who was also just appointed the position. Both of these positions weren’t coached very well last year at all. I think that these moves will be good for the team and the upcoming 2008 season. The White Sox need to step it up next season and hopefully these new changes will help them achieve their goals and lead them to a successful season.

Like I stated the possible trades are just rumors. But, I hope that we can turn these rumors in facts in the near future.

So the trading talk is beginning, but soon enough we will have some definite answers. Let’s just hope that the White Sox can make some wise trades and we can almost guarantee that the will have a better 2008 season.

Baseball Shenanigans

I've always wanted to get arrested for running out on a baseball field, you know, like in the movies. Except they seem to never get arrested or in trouble at all. But in reality, if you mess with the cops at a professional baseball game, you're going to get in trouble. Period. Just ask seven Red Sox fans.

They were ordered by a judge to write a 5-page essay explaining to the court what they have learned about being arrested after a Red Sox game. This wasn't just any game, it was the one to win the American League Championship so there were bound to be some rowdy, overexcited fans in Fenway. If you're going to get arrested, make sure it's for disorderly conduct at a baseball game. That will make a good story for the children someday. You can read the whole story here.

At least no one was killed after this particular game. Apparently, a young woman was killed in 2004 by a pepper pellet fired by a cop after Boston won the AL pennant. Hopefully, cops will keep everything in line for tonight's Game 1 of the World Series. If the movie Fever Pitch told us anything about Red Sox fans, it's that they're crazy. Or maybe it's just Jimmy Fallon.

I can't help but think of the World Series and how the Cubs should be battling it out. No, I'm not saying that they deserve to be in it more than the Rockies or Red Sox, it would just be nice to have Chicago in there. I would have something to look forward to at least. You know, something to get excited about, other than my two exams and the mound of laundry staring me in the face. Oh well. Do I dare to say it? Should I even root for a team? I'll keep it inside so I don't ruin it for either teams' fans. No one needs my jinx on them tonight.

2 for 1: Bulls branded by Mavericks in loss; Chicago Bulls shut Milwaukee the 'Buck' up

The Dallas Mavericks decided to end their preseason on a high note with a victory over the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night. Chicago was glad to finally have Gordon back, but they were still without Luol Deng. Chicago was down two more players the Chicago Bulls waived free agents Andre Barrett and Justin Homan. Rookie Aaron Gray once again started in the line-up since he has been impressively consistent. Gray started the game off well by scoring 6 of the Bulls first 8 points. Then Josh Howard decided to answer back by scoring 10 points in a row for the Mavericks. By the end of the second quarter, the Mavericks had taken a 57-45 lead over Chicago.

By the beginning of the second half, the Bulls were desperate for some sort of offensive spark. However, they were not able to find one. Chicago only managed 16 points in the third quarter, while Dallas was led once again by Josh Howard, who helped extend their lead. Josh Howard had already dropped a game high 19 points before he left in third quarter due to a wrist injury.

In the fourth quarter, Chicago finally picked it up on offense. Benchwarmers Thabo Sefolosha, Thomas Gardner, and Joakim Noah carried the offensive load for Chicago. All three finished the game with 12 points each. However, this was not enough to catch back up to the Dallas Mavericks, and the Bulls fell to the Mavericks, 88-96.

Dallas received strong contributions from guards Jason Terry, who finished with 16 points and shot 6-for-6 from the field, and Devin Harris, who finished with 13 points and 4 assists. Chicago and Dallas tied their preseason series by winning a game apiece.

Box Score of the Game
Video Recap of the Game

Thursday night was the Chicago Bulls preseason closer against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls started the game with their regular season projected starting line-up, which consisted of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and Ben Wallace. Milwaukee was without star shooting guard Michael Redd and center Andrew Bogut. Chicago took advantage of their absences by running the ball up and down the court. Luol Deng led the first quarter charge by scoring 8 of his 12 game points. Every starter scored in the first quarter.

The second quarter was pretty stagnant for both teams. Both teams only managed to score 22 points each. Chicago finished off the first half with a 52-43 lead. Ben Wallace left the second quarter due to a sprained left ankle. This would be the beginning of a string of injuries of Chicago big men during the game.

Ben Gordon opened the second by draining a 3-pointer. Ben Gordon even worked on his passing game by dishing out 3 assists. Joe Smith went on a tear at the end of the third quarter by scoring Chicago's final 8 points. This was by far Joe Smith's best performance of the preseason. Chicago opened up a 13 point lead going into the final quarter. However, Tyrus Thomas left the game in the third quarter due to a right foot injury.

Thomas Gardner put away the Bucks by scoring all of his 9 points in the fourth quarter. Mailwaukee's Yi Jianlian lead the Bucks in fourth quarter scoring by scoring 7 points. Joakim Noah was taken out of the game in the final quarter due to a right ankle injury. Despite the losses of Wallace, Thomas, and Noah, Chicago was able to hold on to their lead and finish off the preseason with a 97-81 victory over Milwaukee.

The Bulls finished off the preseason with a 4-3 record, but the damage had been done in the final game. According to "Blog-a-bull," Wallace and Thomas should be fine, but Noah could miss the season opener. Chicago will open its season on Halloween night in New Jersey against the Nets. New Jersey better have their candy bags ready because Chicago is going to be dishing out a lot of special treats for them, as well as some tricks.

Box Score of the Game
Video Recap of the Game

1 Under .500

Griese Chicken Report: He threw for over 300 yards and didn't throw an interception. He only threw one touchdown, but it came at a vital time; an end of the game touchdown drive to win. His communication device in his helmet before the last drive, which means he called all the plays himself to go 97 yards and throw a touchdown pass. I have to agree with Jeff at Da' Bears Blog that Brian Griese is the Bears quarterback. I was skeptical at first of him, and thought that they should have given Grossman another chance, but after Sunday I have to say Griese has earned his chance.

The Good: The Bears earned their first victory over McNabb. McNabb had never lost to the Bears before this game. Brian Urlacher looked like his self of old, recording 8 tackles and 4 assists. Russ at Bears Gab points out that the Bears are back in the playoff hunt for now. The NFC North isn't looking that great, and the Bears may even have a shot of winning the division.

The Bad: The running game still hasn't picked up, even with Griese throwing for over 300 yards. Benson had 46 yards on 17 attempts, which is awful (this week's rushing leader was Watson with Cincinnati, who had 130 yards on 31 attempts). Peterson had 21 yards on 4 rushes, which makes me question why he didn't get the ball more.

The Ugly: Redzone percentages for both teams. Chicago went 1/3 and Philly went 1/4. The Bears really need to improve this, although it was nice to see the Bears D hold Philly to 1/4 in the redzone.

Cleveland Doesn't Rock

Apparently any team I root for is bound to lose. Example: the Cubs, Purdue, and now the Indians. I am very sorry to all Cleveland fans because I feel like I am somewhat responsible for they're loss to Boston last night. Maybe if I hadn't promoted them, they would have hung on to their 3-1 series lead and made it into the World Series. I really wish they had. This World Series is going to be worthless for me to watch. I could really care less about both teams. I suppose Colorado fans as well as Boston fans are incredibly thrilled that their teams are in the final series but where does that leave me? A Cubs fan? Oh that's right, exactly where I'm used to. Watching my team fall out into the land of nothingness while other teams, that I have no interest in, continue dominating and finally make it into the World Series. Just tell me when it's over.

Now that I think about it, it wasn't my fault Cleveland lost. They never put in Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn.

Cubs fans can still hope for something. Maybe Alex Rodriguez, the talented Yankee third basemen, will opt out of his contract and become a free agent. And maybe, A-Rod will want to play for Lou Piniella once again. And quite possibly, he'll stop wearing pinstripes and put on the 'ole white and blue. Hey, the Cubs have just as good a chance at acquiring Rodriguez than any other MLB team. That would definitely excite many Chicago fans, including me. I could learn to forget that he played for the Yankees.

2 for 1: Raptors go Jurassic on the Bulls; Pacers, ironically, can't keep up with the running Bulls

Friday night, the Chicago Bulls took on the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors had just completed part of their preseason play in Europe and were now back in the U.S. to place Chicago. With star Chris Bosh sitting out, the Raptors had to find another way to tear away at the Chicago Bulls. So Toronto turned to 2nd-year player Andrea Bargnani. This 7 ft. shooting wonder scored a game high 21 points for the Toronto Raptors.

Chicago lacked the scoring abilities of Ben Gordon after rumors of him playing didn't fall through. Chicago also lost the defensive play of Ben Wallace. Chicago was led by the big man scoring rookie Aaron Gray who dropped 14 points. Andres Nocioni contributed with 12 points. The Bulls' record is now at 2-2 in preseason play.

The Toronto Raptors was one of the surprise teams of last season. Coach Sam Mitchell was awarded the NBA's Coach of the Year Award last year for his contribution to the much improved play of the Toronto Raptors. With last year's additions of Andrea Bargnani and Jorge Garbajosa, Toronto was able to establish a big man shooting touch from the perimeter. Look for Toronto to be even more improved this year with the acquisition of sharp shooter Jason Kapono.

Video Recap of the Game

Due to difficulty with NBA.com, games stats could not be provided.

The next night, the Bulls bounced back with a victory over the Indiana Pacers. With both Luol Deng and Ben Gordon sitting out, Chicago had to figure out some sort of offense. So Chicago found a passing a game from guards Kirk Hinrich, Thabo Sefolosha, and Chris Duhon. These three combined for 18 of the teams 29 assists. Thabo made his first home appearance for the Bulls.

The Bulls decided to go with a different starting line-up for this game. Hinrich remained the starting point guard, and Ben Wallace remained the starting center. Sefalosha, Nocioni, and Gray all found their way into the starting rotation. Nocioni finished with a team high 20 points. Tyrus Thomas added 15 points from off the bench, and Hinrich and Gray contributed 10 points respectively. Noah came off the bench to have a near double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulls improved to 3-2 in preseason play.

You can't blame the Pacers' poor play for everything since they were missing their two main big men, Jermaine O'Neal and Troy Murphy. Indiana's Shawne Williams finished with a game high 22 points, while Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger finished with 18 points and 17 points respectively. The Pacers fall to 4-2 in preseason action.

The Bulls play the Mavericks at Dallas on Tuesday night in hope of improving their overall preseason record to 4-2.

Box Score of the Game
Video Recap of the Game