Tag: Chicago Bulls

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NFL General

Jan 17 in Sports History: 15-1 Vikings go down in the NFCCG


In 1999: Normally, a 14-2 team advancing to the Super Bowl wouldn’t shock anyone, but when the Atlanta Falcons faced the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game, few expected Atlanta to move on. The Vikings were, 15-1 and one of the most dominant regular season teams in recent memory. Minnesota, led by rookie Randy Moss and a rejuvenated Randall Cunningham rolled up a league-record 556 points and was rarely challenged. Still, the Falcons decided to take the field anyway as 11-point underdogs in the noisy Metrodome. The Vikings had a chance to ice it in the fourth quarter, but Gary Anderson missed a 38-yard field goal (his very first miss of the year) that would’ve put them up by 10. Instead of being down by 10 with 2:00 minutes left, the Falcons were able to force overtime with a Chris Chandler (who outgained Cunningham 340-266) to Terrance Mathis (who scored twice to Moss’ one TD) touchdown with :49 left. The Falcons defense bogged down the Vikings in overtime and Morten Andersen kicked the game-winner to send the “Dirty Birds” to the Super Bowl for the first time, where Eugene Robinson was arrested for propositioning a prositute and the Falcons were beaten by the Broncos. (For those who might not remember the Dirty Bird—, lucky you. It was cool like the Macarena was cool.)

In 1997: Normally getting kicked in your bag just nets a lot of pain and embarrassment. And chances are, you probably deserved it. But when Eugene Amos, an in-house photographer at Minnesota’s Target Center had the audacity to be in the way of a diving Dennis Rodman, his pain turned into a winning lottery ticket. Rodman, then a member of the Chicago Bulls, was scrambling for a loose ball, collided with a prone Amos under the basket and introduced himself Nike-first into Amos’ crotch. The NBA kicked Rodman harder, but in his wallet. He was fined $25,000 and was suspended for 11 games. Rodman also agreed to pay Amos $200,000. Since the suspension was without pay, Rodman cost himself over $1 million dollars and an infinite number of stupid points, even for him.

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General Sports

Nov 30 in Sports History: Brian’s Song


In 1971: ABC-TV aired “Brian’s Song,“ one of the most famous sports movies ever. The movie was a tearjerker about Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan) and Gayle Sayers (Billy Dee Williams), two Chicago Bears teammates who, despite their differences, became best friends, blah, blah, blah. Piccolo ends up dying of cancer, and we didn’t cry, there was just a lot of dust everywhere that day. (imdb.com)

In 1996: In a win over the Spurs, Michael Jordan of the Bulls scored 35 points and recorded his 25,000th career point. Jordan finished his 15-year career with over 32,000 points and a 30.1 average. Jordan was only the tenth player in NBA history to hit the quarter-century mark in points scored. (basketball-reference.com)

In 2005: The Boston Bruins made one of the worst trades in sports history, as they jettisoned captain, former top draft pick and franchise player Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau (not Keith, the better of the two brothers) and Brad Stuart. The Bruins immediately went into the tank, missed the playoffs and GM Mike O’Connell was fired, while Thornton flourished with the Sharks. He teamed up with Jonathan Cheechoo to lead the league in scoring and also won the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. (nhl.com)

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Gold Rush


1. He’s Back
For a team that is coming off of back-to-back 34 win seasons, the Warriors look ready to take the next step. And for any team coached by Don Nelson, that means they’re on the verge of potential playoff disappointment. Nelson is known for his fast paced style, and this group is no different as Golden State is third in the league in points per game. So far, that has netted him a 9-6 record, including upsets over Dallas, Detroit, Sacramento, Utah and San Antonio. His brand of ball will get wins, but just as it was in Dallas, Nellie won’t be able to take this group over the hump. On the bright side, Nelson has turned pine riders like Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins into hot commodities with rising stocks. Don’t forget that Nelson was the mechanic responsible for fine tuning the German engineered Dirk Nowitzki. Just ask Avery Johnson, he knows how smooth that ride is.

2. Enough Already!
The situation in Chicago has become more unbelievable than Ben Wallace’s free throw percentage. The head butting has got to stop and frankly it’s up to the coach to step back on this one. Scott Skiles needs to ease up and let Wallace wear his headband, play his music, tape his ankles or anything else that will keep his big ‘fro motivated. Skiles is trying to flex his muscle and legitimize his authority but he’s putting his own job in jeopardy in the process. Just let Ben be Ben; that is the reason you acquired him, right? At this point, winning is the only thing that should matter for the Bulls and that will be a lot easier with a little harmony amongst the troops. If Skiles will bend a little for Wallace then the four time defensive player of the year just might fully emerge in Chi-town.

3. Locked Up in Los Angeles County
While one Mike Dunleavy is being booed with regularity in Golden State, another is being praised a little further south for his accomplishments in the City of Angels. Mike Dunleavy Sr. has been given a four year extension worth over $21 million by the Clippers. And why not lock in Dunleavy now? The historically pathetic franchise has improved every year under his reign and now gets consideration as the best team in Los Angeles. Donald Sterling appears to finally be committed to winning after being notoriously cheap over the years. If the Clippers are able to improve on their current, mediocre record then the team could see their second consecutive trip to the playoffs. Any coach capable of an amazing feat such as that deserves $21 million in their checkbook. As far as the booing of Mike Jr. goes; that will take a separate miracle.

4. Miller Time
In the midst of trade rumors swirling around him, Mike Miller went out and showed the league that he’s more than just a pretty set shot. Last night in Denver, Miller dished out a career high 14 assists to go along with 13 points and seven rebounds. The assist total is well over his career average of 2.7. While nobody is going to be confusing Miller with Steve Nash anytime soon, the total is impressive for a 6-8 small forward who has no post game from which to pass out of. If Miller is to be dealt; he hopes that this performance will catch the eye of a contending team looking for the missing piece.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Michael Redd @ Los Angeles Lakers 42 min, 45 pts (FG: 16-30, 3FG: 5-9, FT: 8-10), 8 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (11-4) @ Utah (12-3) This is fairly simple. It’s the two best teams in the Western Conference; Utah is 7-1 at home and San Antonio is 7-1 on the road. Obviously, somebody’s impressive streak won’t hold. This is a playoff caliber game six months early.

Buzzer Beater: Forget Ben Wallace, Shane Battier has been the most influential off-season acquisition this season. He’s not putting up the huge numbers synonymous with a major player but he doesn’t have to with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady snatching all the stats. The unselfish Battier provides a perfect compliment to the two All-Stars by setting picks, making extra passes and playing tight defense. And his presence on the court has to be respected by opponents, giving T-Mac and Yao the extra space needed to exploit their defenders.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Chicag-Oh, No!



Seemed like a good idea

1. Wallowing Wallace
Ben Wallace is usually a hard working, no-nonsense kind of guy, but it seems like something has been bugging him since joining the Bulls. His numbers aren’t career lows but they are down across the board from what he averaged during his time in Detroit. He is averaging lows in minutes (33.9), points (5.5), rebounds, (9.2) and blocks (1.5). Wallace is currently tied for 17th in the league in rebounding, sandwiched right between Andris Biedrins of Golden State and Chris Wilcox of Seattle. Not the usually company that Wallace keeps. And in 13 games, Wallace has posted three games of only five rebounds, one of seven and one of eight. Oh, and he had the worst night of his career as a starter in Philadelphia on Friday when he failed to record a single point, rebound, block or steal in only 20 minutes of play. Throw in a 4-9 record that includes a recent six game losing streak and the benching of Wallace by coach Scott Skiles for refusing to remove his headband during Saturday’s win over the Knicks, and Chicago might be starting to regret their $60 million off-season decision.

2. Suns Rise
It took the Suns nearly a month, but for the first time this season Phoenix has a winning record after they went to Portland and defeated the Blazers 119-101. With the win, Phoenix moves to 7-6 on the season and the team has now won six out of seven, including their current four game winning streak. The team chemistry is finally developing now that Amare Stoudemire is close to 100 percent and beginning to return to his All-Star form. The byproduct is that the team is able to pull out the close games they were losing earlier this season, in fact all but two of the Suns games this year have been decided by ten points or less. Having a winning record is a long awaited accomplishment for the team, but they are still sitting at fourth in a very tight Pacific division. Phoenix is off until Wednesday when they begin a three game home stand against the Rockets. However, after that the team will head to the east coast for a grueling road trip consisting of five games in seven days.

3. Coach Cassell
Sam Cassell has expressed great interest in becoming a head coach once his playing days are over and he could only hope to replicate his career as a player. The alien-faced point guard has been a winner everywhere he’s played; he won championships in Houston, took Milwaukee to the Eastern Conference Finals, took Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals and has been instrumental in turning around a once floundering Clippers franchise. The 37 year old veteran signed a two-year, $13 million contract with the Clippers this past summer and says his playing future is uncertain after that. It’s obvious that Cassell knows the game, and his experience would prove valuable to any team. He’s basically a coach on the floor right now and he has absolutely no problem getting into the face of any teammate that isn’t pulling their weight. Cassell possesses all of the tools needed to become a great leader on the sidelines. If it’s any indication, point guards have faired pretty well as head coaches. Current PG’s turned HC’s, Isiah Thomas, Doc Rivers, Avery Johnson, Scott Skiles and Maurice Cheeks have all taken teams to the playoffs at some point in their coaching careers, unfortunately they have a combined record of 45-63 in the post season.

4. Who He?
There have been several players to emerge from nowhere for their teams this season but none more so than Monta Ellis and Kevin Martin. Ellis was drafter 40th overall by the Warriors and only played in 49 games during his rookie year, starting three. In his sophomore campaign, he is averaging 17.6 points, 3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He also posted back-to-back 31 point games earlier in the month. Division opponent Sacramento has their own relatively unheard of guard. Martin began to make his presence felt in the league last season when he averaged 10.8 points and had an impressive run in the first round of the playoffs against San Antonio. This year, Martin leads the Kings in scoring at 24.9 points per game. That’s good enough for 14th in the league, ahead of names like Kobe Bryant (23.8), Tim Duncan (22.8), Kevin Garnett (21.5), Tracy McGrady (19.2) and Jermaine O’Neal (18.2). Not too shabby for a kid that averaged 6.9 points over his first two seasons.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Raja Bell @ Portland 41 min, 30 pts (FG: 10-19, 3FG: 7-12, FT: 3-3), 2 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl

Monday’s Game to Watch: Orlando (10-4) @ Utah (12-2) It’s a clash between the conferences two best teams. Orlando is only 3-3 on the road but is currently riding a three game winning streak behind the defensive prowess of Dwight Howard and the back court production of Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson. Utah is a perfect 7-0 at home and will be looking to bounce back from a road loss to Golden State. It’s going to be a battle of young studs when double-double machines Howard and Carlos Boozer match up in the paint.

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Chicago Bulls

June 12 in sports history: Bulls first stop on the dynasty

[This Date in Sports History is a new feature on the blog. If you have a historical sports event that you’d like us to cover, please email us.]

In 1991 – Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls wrap up their first NBA title with a 108-101 victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles at the Great Western Forum. The Bulls won the series 4-1. It was the first of six titles in the 1990s for Jordan, who would also be named MVP of the finals a record six times.

In 1997 – The first interleague game in MLB history took place. Proving that he didn’t quite get it right back then either, acting commissioner Bud Selig pits the San Francisco Giants versus the Texas Rangers, with the Giants winning 4-3. Useless Trivia Alert: The Giants Stan Javier hits the first ever interleague home run off the Rangers Darren Oliver. (baseballalmanac.com)

In 1981 – The third ever MLB Player’s strike begins and lasts for 60 days. The central issue was free-agent compensation. George Brett, showing his compassion for the fans, said “If anyone stays away (after the strike), my response is this – those people had no right to ever come to the park, because they aren’t true baseball fans.” Major League owners decided to split the 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. As a result, the Oakland A’s, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers were guaranteed playoff spots as first-half division champions. (baseballalmanac.com)

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NBA General

Bulls and Pacers, you’re next up on the tee



Man amongst boys

Well, the 6 and 7 seeds are out of the Easter Conference playoffs as both the Bulls and Pacers headed off to summer vacation.

First, the Bulls. Despite a couple of nice efforts at home in games 3 and 4, they showed their inexperience and disparity in talent level by getting blown out in the final two games. In a home elimination game, with Dwyane Wade hurting, the Bulls were never even able to make a game of it, getting down by 10 after the first period. Tyson Chandler and Michael Sweetney were completely dominated by Shaq. Talk about a man amongst boys. Despite a first round exit, the Bulls have much to look forward to as they get at least a top 5 pick in the lottery this year thanks to Isiah Thomas’s ten-cent head.

Next up, the Pacers. When Anthony Johnson scores 40 points, you’re in trouble. After stealing game 1 of this series, the Pacers were unable to do anything with the home court advantage because Peja couldn’t play with his knee injury. Would Artest have made a difference in this series? Absolutely. There was a shot of Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh in the stands wondering what the hell they were going to do to improve the team. How do you build around Jermaine O’Neal? Do you keep Peja? Somehow this team went from perennial contenders to an easy out in the playoffs in 2 years. How the hell did this happen? Oh right, the Malice in the Palace.

Links:

[Frank the Tank’s Slant]: Bulls Can’t Take the Heat but Summertime Should be Fun
[Kolsky’s Bulls Blog]: No More Mr. Nice Shaq: Daddy is Back
[20 second timeout]: Anthony Johnson Scores 40, but the Nets Eliminate the Pacers
[Big Willie Style]: Pacers Post-Season Wrap-Up