The 2011 Bulls are the Hawks of 2010

As hockey and basketball enter the stretch run, it is very difficult as a Chicago fan to decide if I want to watch the Blackhawks or Bulls.

If I had to choose one this year, it would be the Bulls.

After winning the Stanley Cup last season, the Hawks are struggling to get into the playoffs this year. With just 72 points, the Hawks are tied for ninth place in the Western Conference.

But the other resident of the United Center is playing inspired basketball. The Bulls are bringing basketball excitement back to a city that has not experienced it since Michael Jordan left in 1998.

After dispatching of coach Vinny Del Negro, the Bulls had high expectations coming into this season. But no one predicted the Bulls would be this successful.

After consecutive 41-41 seasons, the Bulls are 40-17 and are third in the Eastern Conference. They are just two games back of Boston and lead the Central Division by 14.5 games. The Bulls are also 12-0 in the Central Division this season.

I am getting that same feeling I had after watching the Hawks dominate last season en route to a championship.

This season is something special. Derrick Rose is something special. The Bulls are back.

For all those reasons and more, the Bulls are the team that I choose to watch.

Honestly, I don’t know where the season will end up, but I can definitely see the Bulls making a deep playoff run.

As far as the Hawks’ future is concerned, it is a lot more difficult to predict. Their season has been inconsistent and they still have not come together and dominated like last season. The sad reality is that the Hawks may not even get into the postseason this year.

Each time I see the Bulls either in person or on television, they play hard. There is no dogging on the court. The players hustle, the defense is aggressive and Brian Scalabrine jumps off the bench during each media timeout.

Another reason to watch is because the Bulls’ bench is stepping up in a big way. Kurt Thomas, Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver each provide a spark, making the games more entertaining.

I am also a fan of new coach Tom Thibodeau. Thibodeau’s defensive schemes have limited opponents to just 92.8 points per game.

Unlike the Hawks, this is a team with potential. The Bulls are taking the league by surprise and dominating teams that are “better and more complete.”

Behind MVP candidate Derrick Rose, the Bulls have already clinched the season series against the Miami Heat, handing LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh two losses in two games.

This team is special. With Thibodeau yelling from the sideline and Rose leading on the court, the sky is the limit for the Bulls.

If the Bulls do run the table and get into the NBA Finals, the Madhouse on Madison will no longer refer to just hockey games.

We haven't seen these Bulls in a long time

It’s official: this year’s Bulls team is the best that the city of Chicago has seen since the end of the Jordan era.

After beating the Miami Heat 93-89 last night, the Bulls have taken the first two games in the season series against Miami.

New head coach Tom Thibodeau has to be considered one of the favorites for Coach of the Year honors. Thibodeau has the Bulls out to a 39-17 record.

Even more impressive is the fact that the Bulls are in third place in the Eastern Conference and just two games back of the Boston Celtics and Miami. In the Central Division, the Bulls have a 13 game lead over Milwaukee.

But what has made all of this talent finally come together?

The answer can be attributed to a few different factors.

Thibodeau’s game planning is much better than former coach Vinny Del Negro’s. Also, Thibodeau doesn’t take out Derrick Rose at the end of games and misuse timeouts.

Secondly, Derrick Rose has become an All-Star. In his third season, Rose has taken over the league by surprise. He is averaging 25 points per game and has become a deadly shooter from three point range. He is a front-runner for the MVP award this season and if he can take the Bulls deep into the playoffs, he should win his first MVP award.

Lastly, the additions of Carlos Boozer, Kurt Thomas, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer have made a big impact. Each player has accepted their role and has developed great chemistry on the court. Thomas, 38, is having one of his best seasons while filling in for the injured Joakim Noah, who just returned back to action this week.

Behind Thibodeau’s leadership, Rose’s scoring ability and Brian Scalabrine cheering on his teammates from the bench, the Bulls are a dangerous team.

Thibodeau’s defensive schemes have worked to perfection this season. The Bulls are giving up 92.8 ppg and holding opponents to just 43 percent shooting from the field.

Offensively, the Bulls are scoring enough to consistently win, averaging 98.6 ppg.

Opposing teams should dread having to visit the United Center. The Bulls are 26-4 at home this season and have not lost a Central Division game (11-0). They are 22-10 in the Eastern Conference and have defeated the San Antonio Spurs (47-10) and the Heat (42-16) in the last two weeks.

Not acquiring LeBron James this past offseason may have actually benefited the Bulls in the long run.


The current lineup is talented, the bench is solid and the Bulls still have $2.9 million available in salary cap space.

This is a team built to win both now and in the future.

Add in Luol Deng and Taj Gibson, and this team has enough young talent under contract for the next few years to make a run for at least one NBA Championship.

The price of free agents in baseball keeps rising

It seems that money just doesn’t go as far as it used to.

This off season, a handful of baseball teams made very lucrative offers to free agents.

Some offers can be justified, others look as if they will come back to haunt the team in the years to come.

The best signing goes to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies acquired starting pitcher Cliff Lee for $120 million over five years. With the addition of Lee, the defending National League East Champions have one of the best rotations in MLB history. This move makes Philly the team to beat in the N.L.

The worst contact signing in the off season came from the Washington Nationals. For some reason, the Nats decided to give outfielder Jason Werth a seven-year $126 million contract. Although Werth has put up solid numbers the last few seasons, he is now on a team that does not have a solid lineup. In Washington, there is no Ryan Howard or Chase Utley to protect Werth in the lineup. It is very difficult to see him living up to his contract.

Other losing teams include the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. The Rangers failed to keep Lee after he helped lead them to the World Series while the Yankees failed to sign both Lee and Carl Crawford, who signed a seven-year $142 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.

The one team that has gone under the radar this off season is the Milwaukee Brewers. Although the Brewers gave up the majority of their prospects, they got back starting pitchers Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum. Those two additions, who will be the top two starters in their rotation, make the Brewers a dangerous team in the N.L. Central.

In Chicago, things stayed pretty quiet during the off season.

The Cubs made some minor additions to their team while the White Sox signed one of the most coveted free agents on the market.

The Cubs traded for SP Matt Garza and signed first baseman Carlos Pena to a one-year deal worth $10 million. But perhaps the biggest steal in all of baseball was the signing of Kerry Wood, who signed a one-year deal worth just $1.5 million. Add in the minor league signings of Reed Johnson and Braden Looper and the Cubs could contend in weak N.L. Central division.

On the other side of town, the White Sox re-signed Paul Konerko, A.J. Piersynski and Alexi Ramirez to multi-year deals while signing free agent slugger Adam Dunn to a four-year $56 million contract. The Sox have spent a lot of money and are hoping that Dunn and Konerko can get this team back to the postseason.

With each passing year, baseball players are getting more and more expensive. The days of finding bargains and signing players to minimal contracts may be over for good.

Players are no longer paid what they deserve, but rather, what the market dictates their value should be.

This does not bode well for many teams going forward.

Is anyone sure how the Chicago Cubs will do in 2011?

Another February is finally here and some Chicago Cubs pitchers and catchers have already reported for spring training.

But going into the 2011 campaign, this year’s season has a different feel to it.

This is no longer Year One for the Cubs. There was no National League Central Division title last year. There was just a distant fifth place finish ahead of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.

I have to say that I agree with most analysts: I have no clue how well the Cubs are going to be this year.

I do know that with the additions of Matt Garza and a healthy Kerry Wood, the Cubs’ pitching staff could really make some noise in the N.L. Central this season.

The team’s work ethic is looking promising so far. Ryan Dempster is just one of the players who have been working out for the past few weeks in Arizona. A couple of weeks ago, he led over 20 players on a sunrise run over Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale.

But the focus of spring training needs to be on the problems that plagued the Cubs during their 75 win season in 2010.

Former manager Lou Pinella is gone and new manager Mike Quade finally gets his shot to manage a big league club for an entire season.

But was the Cubs’ 24-13 record under Quade anything special? The Cubs did not play good baseball consistently all year and were overdue to go on a hot streak. That hot streak occurred in September, when the games were meaningless to the club.

Can Quade and the Cubs come through when the pressure in on?

Quade does have some good things going for him. He has a stellar pitching rotation that includes Dempster, Garza and Carlos Zambrano, a solid bullpen with setup-man Sean Marshall and one of the best closers in the game in Carlos Marmol.

In the second half of last season, Carlos Zambrano finally looked the $18 million pitcher he is supposed to be. If he can stay healthy and remain out of trouble the entire year, he could put together a memorable season.

At the plate, Quade has some real talent. The Cubs’ addition of first baseman Carlos Pena should certainly give the club the left-handed bat that they have been searching for. Shortstop Starlin Castro is looking to put up big numbers in his sophomore year after batting .300 as a rookie last season.

Castro is projected to lead-off for the Cubs this season. The projected batting order behind Castro is: Marlon Byrd, Aramis Ramirez, Pena, Alfonso Soriano, Tyler Colvin, Geovany Soto and Blake DeWitt.

If Ramirez (.241) and Soriano (.258) can bounce back from poor performances last year and produce like they have in the past, the Cubs could be a dangerous team in the N.L.

But it’s a stretch to believe that Zambrano will stay calm and Soriano will actually live up to his $19 million that he is owed in 2011.

I know that neither one will probably happen, but it’s my wishful thinking that gets me through each season as a Cubs fan.

If the Cubs’ pitching staff has a good year and the hitters actually drive in runs, the Cubs could win 90 games.

If those two things do not happen, the final number of wins will be closer to 70.

I want to believe that this is the year, so the Cubs finish 88-74, sneak into the playoffs as the wild card and actually win a playoff game.

And with Ron Santo’s spirit looking down on the Cubs, anything can happen; even miracles.

Super Bowl XLV is shaping up as something special

Fans all across the country are starting to prepare for Super Bowl Sunday. Millions of people are stocking up on chips, beer and other essentials.

But football fans should be a little more pumped up for this year’s contest.

Super Bowl XLV kicks off at 5:30 p.m. from Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, TX. It features the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, two of the most successful franchises in NFL history.

The last Super Bowl to feature two franchises that have each won multiple championships was way back in 1996, when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Steelers 27-17 in Super Bowl XXX.

Although I have witnessed exciting Super Bowl contests the last few years, this year’s game has a different feel to it. I mean, these are two teams that have combined for nine Super Bowl Championships.

The Steelers have won the Lombardi Trophy twice in the past five years, both with starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger under center.

The Packers brought the Lombardi Trophy back home in Super Bowl XXXI, defeating the New England Patriots 35-21, securing their first championship since Super Bowl II.

And after the great history of these teams is dissected and discussed, fans should not forget that this is going to be a great football game.

This is a game that could go down to the final seconds. If both defenses live up to the hype, this will be a low-scoring defensive struggle for 60 minutes.

Ben Roethlisberger is attempting to get his third Super Bowl ring and cement his legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. If he is successful this Sunday, he will join Tom Brady as the only active quarterbacks with three Super Bowl Championships.

Roethlisberger has some offensive weapons at his disposal. Rashard Mendenhall is in the backfield and the recieving core of Hines Ward, Mike Wallace and Heath Miller could be enough to put Pittsburgh over the top.

Also, the Steelers have a big advantage coming into Sunday night: experience. Their roster has 26 players on it that have won at least one Super Bowl ring.

But it will not be easy for Pittsburgh. They face a stout Green Bay defense that is coming off of three consecutive road wins. This is a Packers team that has a chance to make history and become the first No. 6 seed in NFL history to win the Super Bowl.

On Sunday, we will also find out if Aaron Rodgers has what it takes to win the big game. If he can lead his team past Pittsburgh, he will permanently emerge out of Brett Favre’s shadow.

But Rodgers has to play better than he did last week against the Chicago Bears if he expects to win. This time around, safety Troy Polamalu will be lurking in the secondary instead of Bears’ cornerback Charles Tillman. He will face linebacker James Farrior in the middle of the field while trying to evade James Harrison, who explodes off the line and gets to the quarterback.

But after all the media coverage, advertisements and the long halftime show, it is all about who takes care of the ball. It is simple: whichever team loses the turnover battle, loses the game.

The storylines have been talked about and analyzed the past two weeks, but now it is time for each team to buckle down and play some football.

As long as the Steelers can move the ball on Green Bay, they win a close one 20-17, giving Roethlisberger ring number three.