Dog-Ass Days!

As we approach June and the two month point in the baseball season, both the Cubs and Sox are teetering on point break. They both have the ability to win their respective divisions. The Cubs because of the weakness of their competition, and the Sox on experience and talent.

Both Ozzie and Lou are about to blow a rod. Who will be the first and how bad will it be. Its not only the fact that they are losing, but the hapless way in which these losses are aquired. Its very dificult to lose in the manner the Cubs and Sox have accomplished.

The Sox just dropped their 6th straight on a Buerle 2 hitter. Their chasing Detroit, Cleveland and Minnesota while they try to immitate K.C. The Cubs have little leaguers as relievers that can give a game up when no lead is safe.

For the Cubs, the expectations were very high and for the first time in many years they cannot blame injuries. They play listless and without any seeming urgency.

Urgency is the bottom line for both teams, they are both designed to win now! The Cubs finishing towards the bottom would be an indictment of both Lou and the now free spending Hendry. For the Sox and their cost cutting management, this may be the last run for the World Series remnats. Two more weeks of this type of lsoing and some major moves will be made on both sides of town.

Summer in Chicago

Chicago is a two season town. The cold season is for drinking and staying on the couch. The hot season is for exercising and enjoying the lakefront. This Memorial Day weekend is the official start of the hot season, so get out and celebrate all that this great city has to offer.

Baseball update:

1. American League looks like it has about 4 teams worthy of the title chase. Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and LA/Orange County/Pasadena/Long Beach/Riverside look like playoff teams so far. All four have great starting pitching and a nice blend of veterans and newbies.

2. National League looks a bit more wide open. I like the Mets, Atlanta and San Diego. The Central must place a team in the playoffs. I really have no clue which team will even win 80 games in the division, maybe Milwaukee with great starting pitching and young talent up the middle.

Sidenote:
NBA Finals Spurs and Pistons Rematch from 2005. I remember game 7 of the 2005 Finals. Detroit is better now and San Antonio is the same team but two years older. I think this series will go 6 games and end in Motown for the Pistons. Webber is on a mission and will not be denied.

Back to the Nice Weather Now....

BooK EnD

Progression !!!

It was just a joy to watch. So exciting. And yes, I had them left for dead, but now I'm jumping on the bandwagon:

WE MUST DO IT!!

Several different thoughts, jumbled all over each other=

Shot after shot after shot went in. Until i checked the box score earlier, I though the Bulls shot 100%. Thank you Jesus for a hot hitting fool like Little Ben G., who will never miss another shot until the end of time.

Kirk!! Just loved the play where he midded a three from the left corner, ran for the daylight in the other corner while ignoring the ball bouncing out near him (he knew his teamate would get it and get it to him)and then drained the three. 13 assists for THAT fool.

He was invisible, right? Talking w/ Crankface, and we both were like "and we didn't even need a big game from Deng". Yet again, the box shows Luol with 20 points, seven boards, and four assists. Hopefully he'll have just as invisible a game Thursday.

Tyrus Thomas, SLAMMING !!! Just like the rest of the team, when we needed some play out of the ordinary, here was Double T two handing'm down. After Kirks three (above), my favourite was the alley-oop he put down from Ben Wallace in the third quarter. He was energy that the Pistons just couldn't deal withon top of the rest of the teams play.

P.J. Brown, hustling on the break, hitting the shots (15 points), and getting the boards (eight). Great game !!

So, Thursday. Yes, very obvious that they can pull it off @ home. Detroits gonna make some changes, but luckily there's only one day they can practice them. I suggest get in the faces of the Bulls shooters more; but then hopefully we can get inside more. The Bulls need to avoid cold shooting and keep the stifling D going.

Lets go Bulls!!

Raus !!! Schnell !!!

I just love how 'patriotism' is so freely used as a term for fascism in America. The New York Times reported this week on the practice of 7-8 baseball stadiums that force the crowd to stand still during the seventh inning stretch playing of patriotic songs that has kicked since 2001. I'm deeply sick of anti-American shitheads forcing their standards on the good people of America while disingenuously claiming that it is "the good American thing to do".

How dare the types who gave us Vietnam, slavery, Iraq, Bush, the genocide of the native Americans, and etc. now trying to force a new and improved form of McCarthyism on us. When I hear patriotic songs, I sometimes think of the greatness of my nation. But when I read of sorrowful situations such as this, I just think of the lie of American freedom. Why is it that that sort of anti-American crowd continually dictates what patriotic Americans must do. If I feel like doing jumping jacks during the singing of "God Bless America", why not??

We must reject those who hate America so deeply. The greatest rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" that I have ever heard, the deeply moving and beautiful rendition by Marvin Gaye at the NBA all star game in 1983, sparked loads of controversy. Never have I felt such 'pride in being American from a song' as that rendition. And that sort hated it and raised such a stink. I guess they not only were anti-American but they also had poor taste.

I understand that the freedom to move around a baseball stadium is maybe not the most important thing ever (like, say, having our votes counted accurately); but this is America, and we must protect her from those who hate out American Freedoms.

God Bless the United States of America.

Survival !!

So, the Bulls didn’t look all that outmatched Sunday in their 102-87 defeat of the Detroit Pistons to stay alive and provide some hope in their forlorn playoff series. They played with a seriousness from beginning to end that seemed more real than any other time in this series. From the beginning, they got the ball inside with great passing and ball movement that the Pistons defense could not keep up with. At times the Bulls seemed to be playing the ballgame that beat Miami.

Although the Pistons would have some leads in the first half and the Bulls seemed in danger of collapsing as the fourth quarter rolled on, they held on and closed out Detroit with a youthful display of movement, crisp passing (although some passes were horribly forced and resulted in some buck -ugly turnovers), and tough D. Where in game # 3 the Bulls collapsed in the third quarter, this time they extended the lead and looked ready to really womp the mo-town crew. Although there was some unsteadiness in the fourth quarter that looked like another disastrous collapse in the making, they held on and gained a lot of confidence. There was no disaster: the Bulls held their own and won.

The list of contributors was great. Ben Wallace had a 17 boards and hit 5-8 ft’s. Kirk Heinrich had a great game on both offense and D. And Ben Gordon, after a nothing 1st half, had a solid 2d half on the way to 19 points that was highlighted by an incredibly important three point shot late in the game that helped stunt the Pistons comeback. And Luol Deng continued his outstanding and continually getting better play. Luol was the only player not to sit the entire game. However, it was the playing great as a team to-gether that won the game. I can guess that the practices the team had in preparing for this game had a huge effect: the Pistons were the same team- it‘s not like they had a bad game- but now the Bulls seemed to have answers. The biggest change was getting the ball inside and actually scoring. The Bulls tried that in the first three games, but only now did they succeed when the game was on the line and not hopeless over.

The future? Methinks it ends Tuesday nite. We got what every team wants in a series down 0-3: that first win. But Detroit has such a good team and they so dominated the Bulls in The Palace that I have little hope for a game six. But one never knows: as I stated above, there was no collapse and the Pistons were beaten. If they can somehow survive another game in Michigan, maybe…………………

Double no hitters I was almost involved in both at the same time and they threw us into a hole and washed away the key and then laughed at us

Went w/ Gf to Cubs game last nite. I haven't been to a Sox game yet, but here I am @ the Wrigly Corporation(sic) Field. Met Gf @ Hilts H.S., and battled our way north up slow Western. I had the coupons rolling for some stuff @ Costello's Sandwichs and Things. This was not a 2-1, but a free drink and side. had two coupons, and supped fast and well. We dropped the car and did the double time (we didn't- we walked @ normal pace) mile walk to the stadium, and went in.

One thing I noticed was that there was a lot of Cub fans there. I know I have a bit of blinders on, but it's funny to this Southsider to see so many fans of Iowa team. True, too, not just a anti cubfan thing.

As stated in the title (LIARS!!!), there were two no hitters going this nite. Since I was @ Wrigley, I guess I dressed the part : the Cub pitcher had a no hitter into the seventh, but I must admidt I didn't notice until..............after the game. I was noticing the 4 in the first the Sox put up and that this game was going FAST AS HELL. I clapped the outs.

It was a good time. Wrigley is a great place to take in a game, although there are some negatives and some little funny thing as well.

The negative is having to look @ those fucking rooftop bleachers they put up outside the stadium. So bad. I totally remember the organic rooftops of my youth, where it was just the people who lived there & frenz invited who went, not the fux who infest the place now (who knows? maybe my Dad didn't die and was hanging out up there...............listening to the Sox game on his transistor........). That's a really sad part of the flavour of the park.

Another thing was the bleachers. yes, Yes, the $5 tix of my youth are now $45 or whatever, and there are now no 'Bleacher Bums' allowed anynear the place, but the expansion of the Bleachers went well from my viewpoint. They added 1000 seats or so, and it didn't hurt the park that much - or at all.

For all its faults, Comisky Park also had its impact on wrigley - the Tribune Corporation mimicing center field @ Comisky and adding a dark glassed viewing area. Again, when I was growing up, that area was dingy corrugated metal in center field. It fit in with the image of the Cubs of the 70's and early 80's- a team that was repped by Bleacher Bums and "The five percent who can't get jobs". (It really was kool/acceptable to be a Cubs fan way back. Now? Ten foot stick. It'll seat some more, and although I liked the metal and then the grass they replaced it with, that's business.

Tribune corporation didn't just steal from the Sox. They also stole from the Dodgers- the Brooklyn Dodgers. There was a little ragtime band playing some songs betwixt innings, and I really though I was @ Ebbets Field.

Truth be told, it was a good time. Viva the Cubbies..........

The Sinking Ship

The Sox season is sinking fast in what amounts to a pre white flag season. Currently they reside in 4th place with only one batter hitting better than .250. They have lost all of their speed and the small ball that brought them a World Series is only a memory.

Their challenges begin with being in the most competitive division in the league. Couple this with a very poor attempt to copy murderers row and a lack of fire and we may have some competition for K.C. Amazingly, Ozzie has been unusually silent throughout this slide. This may indicate that the hunger is gone and next years Washington Nationals blueprint is being executed ahead of time.

Unless the pitching is shutout like, the Sox have great difficulty scoring. They are all swinging for the fences with very poor results. The Thome trade has been a complete failure. He has continued his pattern of injury/mediocre production.

Yes their record may be better than the Cubs, but they will end up in the bottom of the division. This appears to be their last chance before the "rebuilding" begins. Reinsdorf is, indeed, a very frustrating owner. He is willing to admit via his trades that money is the bottom line.

It would be refreshing to hear Ozzie go against the company line, but winning isn't in the plan this year.

I am seeing the comparisons betwixt the Bulls-Pistons from now vs. the way back rivalry of the late '80's and 90's. It's not that it's these two teams, Chicago and Detroit. The uniforms may be the same, but the personnel and focus of both sets of teams are radically different from way back. It's not that the Bulls are the up and coming team that has to learn and live another year or two before they can successfully challenge the giants. The comparison I see is that these Bulls are getting their asses kicked by the Pistons.

That's just the way it is. Detroit, in their first two home games, have never even looked sweaty. As Rosario said, I'm tired of seeing these guys smile. The playoff series in '88, '89, and '90 all ended with the Bulls getting a little closer each year, but beinbg dominated when it really counted. As these series went on, the Bulls were able to get some wins @ home. Eventually they superseeded the Pistons, but those early series seemed just as this- a championship caliber team pushing around youngsters.

Thursday nite the Bulls have to respond with a big game, but the team seems utterly demoralised on the road court. Detroit moved the ball well, played d, and shot well. The Bulls were the absolute opposite. Again, the body language says it all- smiles -v- downcast grimaces.

I can't see the Bulls even winning one game they have been so outplayed. Thursday nite the series comes to Chicago, and the Bulls have to win. If they can control home court for the next two games, then they will only lose this series 4-3.

Lets go Bulls.

Experience Wins Again

Wings in 6-Pistons in 5 or maybe even 4.




Experience wins this time of the year in hockey and basketball.

I am from Detroit and am a very content sports fan at this time.

Bulls will learn from this experience. Will Paxson keep Skiles for another year? That is the question.

Book End

Can 2007 be like 1991?

Who can forget the end of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals when the classless Pistons walked off the court with 7 seconds left. Refusing to shake the Bulls hands. This was after the Pistons had beaten the Bulls the year before in the Eastern Conference Finals. This victory propelled the Jordan Bulls into one of the greatest dynasties in the modern NBA. The Bulls circa 2007 certainly aren't the Jordan Bulls, but could a victory over the Pistons be another defining moment in Bulls history?

I hope so. But honestly, I'm not optimistic. If you break it down position by position, the Pistons play like the Bulls, but are better at every position. I think Skiles might have the advantage or Flip, but Chauncey is better than Kirk, Rip is better than Gordon, Tayshaun and Luol might be a wash, Rasheed is better than Nocioni or Tyrus and Webber, while a defensive liability is better than the Wallace.

Can the Bulls win? Yes. They need to win one of the first two games in Detroit and finish the series in six. The Pistons have not been a great home team, the Bulls need to take advantage of that. Our Wallace has played some of his best games against Detroit, let's hope that continues. With Dallas being unceremoniously dumped by Oakland ( where exactly is Golden State)the door has been opened. This Bulls team has as realistic chance of winning the NBA Finals.

All the exciting things about the Bulls this year, unselfish play, no real superstar, the extra pass, great defense can also be said about the Pistons. Let's hope the Baby Bulls are all grown up and ready when the Bad Boys Earth Two come to play.

Prediction: Pistons in Six