112th Edition - 3/09/07

112 - The emergency phone number in Europe. Deal with that! 9-1-1. And also, an R& B group from Atlanta that I have never heard of.

• Bulls - They roller, my coaster

One day after the Bulls got pounded by the Miami Heat, they bounced back and crushed the Orlando Magic, 100-76. They outscored the Magic 49-29 in the first half. Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich went 7-9 from 3pt range. I wish someone on the team would say, "yeah, we decided we probably wouldn't win both games on the road, so we didn't really try against the Heat, saving our strength for the Magic." Please someone, anyone.

• Cubs - who will go 10-10 for the Cubbies?

Carlos Zambrano is the #1. Ted Lilly is the #2 because the Cubs pay him as much as they do. Jason Marquis needs a spot cause otherwise there was no point in getting him from the Cardinals. After that ... who knows... Mark Prior, Sean Marshall, Rich Hill, Wade Miller, Juan Mateo, Carlos Marmol, Angel Guzman and Neal Cotts all have a shot. Marshall pitched great for the Cubs last year and Hill finally turned it on. Miller is having a good spring and Prior is Prior. Clearly, the Cubs should go to a seven-man rotation, with Zambrano and Lilly getting normal rest. And yes, I am being very generous with the #4 and #5 starters going .500 for the Cubs.

• Hockey - yes, Hockey

Good old hockey (I've been to one Blackhawks game in my life). This would be on every front page in America if it was football or basketball, but hockey can't get front page press, even if it is bad press. Damn that's violent.

• Quick Hits

*Willis McGahee is now a Baltimore Raven. But to put it in better terms for most of us ... he's the 4th pick in your fantasy league.

*Prediction for the Iowa vs. Purdue game (now at 1:00 central)... Iowa wins, 62 - 57.

*Doug Gottlieb, a college basketball analyst for ESPN thinks Steve Alford (Iowa's coach) is out for next year and Dana Altman from Creighton is in. Alford disagrees.

• Stuff

The movie reviews for this weekend...

"300"

and

"Gray Matters"

The dark side... When a friend (let's call him B. Albertson ... no that's too obvious, how about Bryan A.) says, "You should put this on your blog." There are some things you should consider...

1. Your friend, do you trust him?
2. Is it something you should look at during work hours?
3. Did your friend seem to snicker a lot while saying you should put this on your blog?
4. Could unseemly pop-ups flash on your screen as a result of said Web site?

Thus, a link rating the toe of a camel will not be making an appearance today. Though if someone was so inclined they could figure out the name of the Web site by using this puzzle -- www dot rate my camel toe dot com -- happy hunting.

111th Edition - 3/8/07

• The Weekly Bull (35-28, 11-20 on the road, 4 games behind 1st)

Things were looking good. Three wins in a row until last night went the Wadeless Heat smacked the Chicago Bulls 103-70. The Bulls were outscored 33-14 in the 4th quarter and only mananged 27 points in the second half. At one point the score was 56-53 Heat, which means the Bulls were outscored 47-17 to end the game (not good). The worst tiny little stat of the game ... James Posey drew FOUR offensive fouls against the Bulls.

Numbers ...
Luol Deng is averaging 21.4 points and 7.3 rebounds a game in the last month.
Ben Gordon is averaging 22.0, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists over the same stretch.

Next week's opponents - Orlando, Boston (twice) and Philadelphia. 3-1 or 4-0 are the only options.

• Quick Hits

*Jamal Lewis is now a Cleveland Brown.

*The Iowa Hawkeyes go against the Purdue Boilermakers Friday at 1:30 on ESPN.

*Nice dunk. Over a car. click here

• Stuff

*Coming tomorrow - reviews of "300" and "Gray Matters."

*Captain America is dead. Seriously, they just killed him in the comic book. A sniper got him.

*USA Today has an interview with Michael Stipe about the R.E.M. Hall-of-Fame induction. click here

*If you never saw Crispin Glover on Letterman, you haven't truly lived. This is from 1987 and he chose to wear a wig.

110th Edition - 3/07/07

110 - The correct percentage to give if you truly want to win.

• Special Guest - Mike Denardis

He's the man behind the beating I received in NFL picks this past year. Mike has also decided to move to North Carolina. Things I'll miss about Mike ... drinking with Mike. Hmmm, shorter list than I was thinking it would be. Anyway, he's here to talk sports, so let's get on with it.

BEARS! BULLS!

Wow 11:00 already, boy time flies when you wake-up at 10:30. A couple items on my mind involve the Chicago sports teams.First off, I got into a debate last night about placing the "franchise tag" on a player in the NFL.
I specifically remember Seattle doing it multiple years with tackle Walter Jones, but a cohort thought that you had to have an existing contract.
Well, it turns out you can franchise a free agent for year after year. So, I don't think Lance Briggs is going anywhere.
I think the trade demand was a ploy because his agent, the oh-so slimy Drew Rosenhaus, knows we can franchise him year after year. Of course, he can hold-out, but he would just be affecting his own value in the market and have to pay to get paid eventually.
Another part of the situation I find funny is that maybe the Bear's traded Thomas Jones to free up a little space and re-open negotiations with Briggs.
So, maybe Briggs should have kept his mouth shut for a little longer and everything would have been fine.

....I love watching this Bulls team. I know it can be like watching a tragic play at times, but I don't care. At this point, I don't want a low post scorer (unless via draft.) I don't want Garnett if we have to give up Deng or Gordon.
I want this team to grow together. If you've watched the Bulls this season, you can see the growth in Deng and Gordon.
Give Deng another summer to develop a low post game to go with his slashing and sweet 18 footer and nobody will be talking about Gasol or an aging Garnett.
And Gordon has already found the consistency he lacked the last couple of seasons. He's already one of the league's best jump shooters and what is he 23?
The fault of the Bulls in the rebuilding era is giving up on pieces before they've matured as players.
We know this list: Elton Brand, Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Tyson Chandler, Eddie Curry. I don't fault John Paxson for giving up on Chandler or Curry, but if you trade Deng or Gordon now, we're going to watch one or two pieces light us up for years.

109th Edition - 3/6/07

109 - The registry number of the famous patrol boat PT-109, commanded by John F. Kennedy.

• Bears: Thomas Jones - gone

The Bears gave up the 63rd draft pick and Thomas Jones to the New York Jets and received the 37th overall pick. That's the deal. It almost seems not worth it. Jones would have had one year left on his deal, and hopefully would have felt compelled to show other teams he would be worth the money in 2008. Cendric Benson, the future is now ... or in July when you start two-a-days ... actually more like August when you start the preseason, actually they will rest you more than usual since you are now a premier back ... Benson, I'll see you in September, don't get fat.

• Cubs: a tale of two arms

Mark Prior threw 41 pitches and didn't look good. Three earned runs, four outs. That was his day. Kerry Wood threw 12 pitches, eight strikes and looked good in a one-two-three 5th inning. The Cubs are loaded with average pitchers, I will be incredibly sad if Prior isn't one of them. By the way, Carlos Zambrano has guaranteed the Cubs will win the World Series and he'll win the Cy Young. If "A" happens, then "B" is a distinct possibility but holding your breath on this one is not an option. Anybody have any suggestions instead of "Don't hold your breath"? I'm sick of using it.

• Quick Hits

*Ron Artest was arrested for domestic violence when he allegedly pushed a woman down and wouldn't let her live. She later threw a pot at his Hummer's windshield and shattered it. There was a three-year-old child in the house during the incident. Artest is vying for the presidency of "I'm not shocked by anything this man does." Look out Mike Tyson, look out.

*Yao Ming is back, and he didn't look good. He still managed 16 points and 11 rebounds so maybe it doesn't matter that he looked slow and uncoordinated, or maybe he always looks that way and since he's been out for 32 games I simply forgot.

*Travis Henry is a Denver Bronco. Ahmad Green is a Houston Texan.

• Stuff

*Monday's "Heroes" was a little disappointing. The main reason, these tiny previews they show when coming back from commercial are killing me. Why would I possibly want to see a scene that is about to happen 10 minutes from now? And you listed Malcolm McDowell in the opening credits as well. Why not save it for the surprise? By the way, the show won't be new until April 23.

*I'm probably the only one who cares ... Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz will be in Woody Allen's next movie.

*Shaquielle O'Neal will have his own ABC reality show this summer when he helps junior high school kids lose weight.

108th Edition - 3/5/07

108 - The number of stitches on a baseball AND what the numbers on "Lost" add up to (it's your fun little facts for the day)

• Bulls: Game of the Year

The Bulls swept the Bucks this season, the first time since 97-98, but that is not what makes this game special. Ben Gordon and Michael Redd combined for 100 points in this game, with Redd getting more (52) and the loss (121-126 in OT). Both men shot 18-32 from the field, Gordon poured in 20 points in the 4th quarter to help the Bulls come back from 18 down.

• Hawkeyes: of course they did...

The Iowa Hawkeyes lost to Penn State and essentially told everyone, "we're not good." Then on Saturday, they beat the Illini and told everyone, "we have no idea what kind of team we are." Adam Haluska led all scores with 21 points. They will face the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday.

The Hawks finished 9-7 in the Big Ten, 17-13 Overall. And probably need a win over Purdue, then Ohio State (the #1 seed) to be considered for the NCAA Tournament, and even then it might not happen.

• Bears: Lance Briggs, please don't go.

Don't go away, Don't go, Don't go away, Please don't go, Don't go, I'm begging you to stay.

Briggs has said he wants to be traded. I hope the Bears (who have salary cap room money) pay the man and get him to stay. Brian Urlacher can be great, but he needs another good/great linebacker playing next to him. Briggs is currently franchised.

• Baseball: I don't care

The White Sox beat the Cubs 13-2. It doesn't matter.

• Stuff

Confession:
I have not had cable for three years. Yet, through the Internet and radio and bars and friend's houses I have stayed atop of the sports/pop culture knowledge and never let on that I was a man without ESPN/E!/MTV and Comedy Central. Well, no more my friends ... The Dish Network was installed Friday night and now the world is my oyster... or something like that. Watched A LOT of TV this weekend, yet somehow a show called "Flip That House" came out the winner. In fact, I think my fiancee and I watched 5 episodes (10 houses) get flipped (and yes, it now has a season pass) ... She let's me still hold the remote though, which is nice.

Box Office Review:
1. Wild Hogs - $38 million
2. Zodiac - $13 million

Dear people of America -
I'm not going to talk about the dumbing down of this United States of America, but instead I want to talk about the good you people can now do... You "Wild Hogs" idiots need to explain the error in your ways. Talk to everyone you know and explain how awful that movie was ... and "Zodiac" people, your job is the exact opposite. I don't want to say the fate of America is in your hands, that would be too dramatic ... But, the fate of producers making more movies like "Wild Hogs" and less like "Zodiac" is in your wallet, so choose wisely.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Coldplay is working on a new album and has a job for us before we die. click here

*There is beginning talk about a sequel to "L.A. Confidential." click here