Results tagged “basketball”

  

Blackhawks Scorch Flames

So far this young season, Bulls budding superstar Derrick Rose hasn't played up to the level many expect. His play has been more tentative, he's committing more turnovers and his shooting percentage has dropped. While's he is still recovering from an ankle injury that caused him to miss most of the preseason, and the loss of Ben Gordon allows opposing teams to tighten up their defense, Rose is perhaps his harshest critic when it comes to his play. And he's vowed to do something about it.

It was a light evening of Chicago sports but with both the Blackhawks and Bulls in action, tonight will be much more eventful.

The Bulls are off to a good start on this year's Circus Trip and are also off to their best start overall in 12 years (6-4) after a 101-87 victory over Sacramento last night. It was also the first time the Bulls broke 100 points in a game and they were paced by John Salmons who scored 23; Joakim Noah (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Luol Deng (16 points, 10 rebounds) added double-doubles. With the hot start, the Bulls are already hearing the whispers about the echos of Jordan and Pippen. After the win, Derrick Rose tried to keep things in perspective, saying, "We're not even near them right now, hopefully one day we'll get there but it's going to take a lot of time." Next up on the road trip are the Lakers tomorrow night (9:30 p.m., TNT).

Don't be surprised if our Editor-in-Chief is a little jumpy this week. He's got this silly fear of clowns and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town on Wednesday. Taking over the United Center from Nov. 18-29, the "Greatest Show on Earth" once again exiles the Bulls and Blackhawks for their annual "circus trips." The Bulls open their West Coast swing on Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings, followed by games against the L.A. Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers, Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks over the next two weeks before returning to the Madhouse on Madison again. While the team's been able to return to Chicago to celebrate Thanksgiving with family between games, this year the Bulls play the Jazz in Utah on the holiday.

Like their United Center roommates the Bulls, the Blackhawks are off on the annual Circus Trip (more on that from Benjy in a bit) on a winning note after edging the Sharks 4-3 in overtime last night. Brent Sopel scored a little more than four minutes in to give the 'Hawks an early 1-0 lead that the Sharks would even up before the end of the first period. San Jose would strike twice more within the first two minutes of the second period to jump out to a 3-1 lead. The 'Hawks held firm and got two second period goals of their own, first from Patrick Kane and then, in the closing minutes, from John Madden to send the game to the final period at a 3-3 tie. After a scoreless third, it was a goal from Brent Seabrook in the opening minute of overtime that clinched the Blackhawks victory, their seventh straight win at home. Huet was in goal once again for the 'Hawks, allowing the three goals but also making 20 saves in the winning effort. After playing four games at home in seven days, the team now has a few days off before opening their two-week road trip in Calgary on Thursday (8:30 p.m., CSN).

    

Fire Doused By Real Salt Lake

  

'Hawks Melt Avs In Shoot-Out

   

It was a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle at the United Center last night, complete with buzzer-beater drama but it was also a game ultimately decided by the refs last night as the Denver Nuggets edged the Bulls 90-89. This morning, Bulls fans are bitterly muttering to themselves about the final call that cost the Bulls the game when a Brad Miller buzzer-beater was waved off by the officials after an instant replay review. We've watched it two dozen times and it still seems too close to call. Though it's only a Level X on the Sports Guy's Level of Losing scale, we still feel like it was a Stomach Punch game. As for the previous 47:59.7 of the game, Denver led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, but the Bulls chipped their way back into the game and did so again in the fourth quarter when - with six minutes remaining - Denver extended the lead back out to seven. Derrick Rose led all scorers with 22 points, Luol Deng had 21 points, and Joakim Noah was a monster on the boards, pulling down 21 rebounds. The Bulls will have to shake off last night's game pretty quick; they're in Toronto tonight (6 p.m., WCIU).

   

College Football

  

Bulls Edge Cavs

Last night, the Bulls dug themselves a big hole early on by rallied in the second half to bounce the Bucks 83-81. The Bulls' offensive struggles of the past few games carried over into last night as they shot 27 percent, mustering an unsightly 29 points in the entire first half and found themselves down by 14 at the break. The Milwaukee lead grew to as much as 18 over halfway through the third, but then Chicago finally got things going, sparked by Jannero Pargo coming off the bench, kicking off a 12-0 run to close to gap to four by the end of the third; the team wound up scoring 45 points over the game's final 18 minutes. Luol Deng had the best performance for the struggling Bulls with 24 points and 20 rebounds; Joakim Noah had only four points but pulled down 12 rebounds and Derrick Rose, who started but played fewer minutes, scored 16. The Bulls get a night off and then head to Cleveland to take on LeBron and the Cavs tomorrow night (7 p.m., TNT).

During Tuesday's morning shoot around, the Bulls sent power forward home Tyrus Thomas home with "flu-like symptoms." Thomas missed the Bulls dramatic comeback win against the Milwaukee Bucks last night, with rookie Taj Gibson starting in his place.

Ah, Bill Simmons aka ESPN's The Sports Guy. To know him is to either love him or hate him. To those that love him, his constant pop-culture riffs and irreverent takes on today's athletes make him seem like one of us: a fan. To those that would rather see him deleted from ESPN's archives, he's a Boston sports homer whose schtick has long since worn thin. Us? We love the guy. While his writing occasionally comes across as just a tad too jokey (sometimes undermining some good points), we can dismiss his homerism - at least he's honest and upfront about it - he's producing an entertaining podcast, he's doesn't suffer for a lack of passion, and he definitely knows sports, particularly basketball.

  

Heat Burn Bulls

  

'Hawks Edge Habs

    

Bulls Bounce Spurs In Opener

   

There are no box scores to link to today as none of Chicago's teams were in action last night. However, there's plenty of sports news to go around.

       

Is this the year the Bulls finally reclaim their place among the NBA's elite? For the past few seasons, the Bulls have been full of potential but inconsistent on fulfilling that promise on the court. One of these years, they'll finally make that jump. When we last saw the Bulls playing meaningful games, it was in an epic seven-game series (plus seven OT periods) with the Boston Celtics in the opening round of the playoffs. Taking the defending NBA champs and second-seeded Celts the full distance gave Bulls fans a lot to look forward to for this season. But is the optimism justified just yet?

    

The Bulls wrapped up a successful preseason - one they played for a good part without start Derrick Rose - by whooping the Washington Wizards 93-70. Tyrus Thomas led the team with 19 points and grabbed six rebounds while Joakim Noah also had a good game with 13 points and 16 rebounds and Brad Miller chipped in 18 off the bench. The Bulls got off to an ice cold start, missing 16 of their first 18 shots, but Thomas paced the Bulls in the second, scoring 12 points, and the Bulls started the second half with a 17-0 run to jump out to a huge lead. The Bulls finished the preseason 6-2 and are now off until their season opener against San Antonio on Thursday (7 pm, TNT). Benjy will be up Monday with our season preview.

The Chicago Bulls have had a hot start to the preseason but they were downed last night by the defending Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic by a 101-98 final. John Salmons led all scorers, putting up 19 points in the losing effort; Kirk Hinrich added 18 and Brad Miller tacked on 15 off the bench. With almost a minute-and-a-half left to play, the Bulls were up by three over the Magic - who remain undefeated in the preseason - but Orlando rattled off a 7-0 run to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish, hitting key free throws to keep the Bulls at bay. With a 5-2 preseason record, the Bulls have one preseason game left - this Friday at home against the Wizards (7 p.m., CSN) - before opening their 2009-2010 regular season on October 29.

The Chicago Bulls continued their hot preseason, completing a home-and-home sweep of the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 94-90 victory Friday night at the United Center. Tyrus Thomas, playing for the first time in four games, led all scorers with 22 points. Taj Gibson added 14 for the Bulls. Despite leading most of the game, the Bulls saw the T-Wolves notch the game at 87-87 with less than a minute to go. But the Bulls hit some key free throws in the waning seconds to push ahead for the win. Said Thomas of his return, "It was good to just come out and play, have some fun and to get the win." Things didn't go so well for the T-Wolves' Kevin Love, who's out for a while after breaking a bone in his non-shooting hand. The Bulls only have a pair of preseason games left; the first is next Monday at home against Orlando (7 p.m., CSN).

The Blackhawks kept their hot start to the season going by winning their third game in a row and remaining unbeaten at home with last night's 4-3 victory over Edmonton. Patrick Sharp opened up the game with a goal in the first minute of play to give the 'Hawks an early lead. Edmonton answered less than two minutes later but Jack Skille would score as well to give Chicago a 2-1 edge. Kris Versteeg added a goal in the second period to give the 'Hawks a 3-1 edge, but it would take a Cam Barker power play goal late in the third to give the 'Hawks enough room to escape with the win in regulation. The Blackhawks sent a barrage of shots - 38 total - towards Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who just last year helped the 'Hawks to the Western Conference finals. Said the Bulin Wall after the game, "It was weird to be on the other side. They actually have become a pretty good team." Pretty good is right; at 4-1-1 in the young season, the 'Hawks sit alone atop the division. The team is on the road tonight in Nashville (7 p.m., CSN).

It was pretty exciting, even if it was a preseason game, as the Bulls edged the Milwaukee Bucks 87-86 last night at the United Center. The Bulls only dressed ten players as a variety of injuries kept five Bulls sidelined. Joakim Noah led the team with 20 points and pulled down an impressive 16 rebounds while Taj Gibson added 15 points and Kirk Hinrich scored 13. Up by six with two minutes to play, the Bulls let the Bucks pull even, but Jannero Pargo hit the go-ahead free throw with 24 seconds left and the Bucks couldn't get anything to fall in the waning moments of the game. The Bulls continue their preseason tonight in Minnesota tonight to take on the Timberwolves (7 p.m., CSN+).

The Chicago Blackhawks gave fans their money's worth at last night's home opener, edging the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in a dramatic nine-round shoot-out win. The Blackhawks got on the board first thanks to a power play goal from Cam Barker. The Avalanche, however, bounced back in the second period with the next two goals to take a 2-1 edge. From there, the two teams exchanged goals as a total of five goals were scored in the second, ending with the teams tied at 3-3 (the 'Hawks got goals from Andrew Ladd and Duncan Keith). After a scoreless third period and overtime period, the teams moved to a shoot-out. The two teams extended the shoot-out to a ninth frame, the longest shoot-out in Blackhawks' history, when a goal by Andrew Ladd gave the 'Hawks a 4-3 shoot-out edge and a 4-3 win. Cristobal Huet stopped 16 of 19 shots he faced in regulation and overtime and came through with some key saves in the shoot-out, stopping 6 of 9 shots. The Blackhawks next welcome Calgary to town on Monday (7 p.m., VS).

  

We shared photos from the Bulls' practice session yesterday and today we've got a few more shots of the Bulls having fun in London ahead of today's match-up with the Utah Jazz. Bulls star Derrick Rose joined Jazz players Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko (and friends) at this weekend's Chelsea-Liverpool Premiership game. For those interested, the game tips off at 1:30 p.m. Chicago time; it's only being carried on NBA TV but you can follow the action online at NBA.com.

       

Like their hockey counter-parts, Chicago's NBA team is getting their season started with a a little European jaunt. Tomorrow night, the Bulls take on the Utah Jazz in a preseason game at London's O2 Arena. The team is already there and settling for the game tomorrow night, though both Derrick Rose and Tyrus Thomas could sit out, according to coach Vinny del Negro.

For the upcoming season, the Chicago Bulls have added a spanish-language radio broadcast as they try to reach out to the city's large Latino community. Twenty-one home games will be aired on La Tremenda WRTO 1200 AM, with Omar Ramos and Ozzie Guillen, Jr. calling the games. As in son of the hot headed, loud mouthed White Sox manager. If he runs his mouth anything like his dad, we're sure the broadcasts will be entertaining -- no matter the on-court play. Pretty sweet as we've been looking for an excuse to brush up on our Spanish. This isn't the first time Ramos and Guillen have teamed up: the pair have been calling the White Sox on Spanish radio for the past few seasons.

Yesterday, we mentioned our local papers honoring Michael Jordan on his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame (being televised this afternoon by ESPN, 5:30 p.m.) along with other greats John Stockton, David Robinson, Vivian Stringer, and Jerry Sloan. But, for Chicago, it's mostly about His Royal Airness. And ESPN has the perfect Friday distraction for you in the form of this collection of 23 videos celebrating his biggest moments [via GB].

In celebration of Michael Jordan's induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame tomorrow, both the Tribune and Sun-Times have created an extensive special Michael Jordan Tributes. Both feature a collection of articles, columns, photos, and videos that trace MJ's life from his childhood, to his standout college career, to his illustrious run in the NBA, his detours for the Olympics and minor league baseball, as well as life in the executive suite. So go ahead and waste your workday reminiscing about the best basketball player we're likely to ever see, as well as the one who brought six championships to town.