Chisoxfn

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 16, 2017 -> 10:32 AM) The only thing we really followed was making sure he slept as much as he wanted. Got him to 4 feedings and then he was on a 7-7 schedule by week 4. Has made it all a lot simpler/easier. Wife has not had to go back to work yet though, so that's what I'm holding out for before I stop knocking on wood. We lived and breathed by schedules for our little one. In hindsight, outside of those first few weeks (due to lack of sleep and just the adjustments), they are actually their easiest at that point (less mobile, etc...haha). Plus even though there is the lack of nighttime sleep, I forgot (when we had our 2nd) how much they sleep during the day those first few months. Kids bring much joy, but they also definitely test your patience at times.

Buckets was on 1st take. I can't say enough how much I love Jimmy Buckets. Epitome of the 90 style basketball that I hold dearly in my heart. Guy has worked his tail off and I want to see the Bulls win it all with him. I love everything about Buckets!!! Maybe these comments will help everyone understand why I am so anti-trading Jimmy. I absolutely adore him.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 16, 2017 -> 06:09 PM) Schwarber has played like 100 something games in his life in the outfield. I obviously have no clue if he'll ever be an average outfielder but it's pretty funny to me how quickly some on this site dismiss it. I'm with you. I wish we had a young bat like Schwarber.

Typical Bulls...beat a couple good teams after getting routed by Suns. That said, they should have beat Houston on that road trip as well. Had they not totally blown it in that Suns game, I'd have called that road trip pretty successful. It is who they are/have been under Hoiberg. I don't remember the exact stat, but I think I heard someone say that since Hoiberg has been coach the Bulls have more wins against winning teams than all but like 5 teams in the NBA or something like that. Yet we have had what, like the 15/16th most wins in the league. For example, this year, only Golden State has more wins against .500 or better teams in the NBA this year. Bulls are tied with Cleveland, Memphis and San Antonio.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 13, 2017 -> 04:45 PM) Bulls are dangling McBuckets and Lopez looking for first round picks. The fact that we'd be willing to dangle Lopez is a good sign, imo. If we move him, that tells me we are looking at shaking things up a bit more then I expected. I'd also presume Taj is on the block.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 13, 2017 -> 08:48 AM) For a guy who was popping off how much losing should hurt, DWade sure seemed to be having a good time watching yesterday's blowout. There is absolutely no reason for the lack of hustle back on defense. Even if you suck you can do that. Hoi ball sucks. Hoiberg is an awful coach. I have zero doubt about that. Lack of development, consistent boneheaded plays, horrific execution out of time outs. List goes on and on. One of the worst NBA coaches I've ever seen. I could be all wrong and we could just have terrible players, but I think it goes beyond that. I wonder if Fred makes it past the all star break? So much money to eat on that contract though. Also, for those of you who haven't noticed, Tony Snell has been a solid starter for the Bucks (far better and more consistent then he ever was for the Bulls). HIS PER is nothing to write home about, but from an overall efficiency perspective he's shooting a nice three ball and playing good defense.

Seemed like a good dude who was lucky to own some sports teams that he loved and was passionate. RIP and best wishes to his family.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 10, 2017 -> 10:11 AM) What's so great about Tyrod Taylor? Nothing. My view is the Bears have kicked the can on QB for forever (really until they made the strong play for Jay...which didn't work out for a variety of reasons, but it is still a play I would make). My view is we need to stop kicking the QB can down the road. Tyrod is a solid stop-gap, but we don't need stop-gap, we need an above average franchise QB and we need to keep drafting (or trading for) QB's until we get one. All that said, Tyrod is a solid QB and he can help the Bears be a playoff team sooner, but I don't see us winning a superbowl with him at the helm and we need to find a QB who can help us be that type of team. I'm still annoyed we didn't draft a QB last year.

QUOTE (Boogua @ Feb 9, 2017 -> 08:08 AM) People often talk about that 11-5 season. It's impressive, although they didn't make the playoffs, but what is overlooked is that they went 16-0 with Brady the previous season. That's a decrease of 5 wins, which is a lot of wins. He also went 3-1 without Brady this year, not 4-0. It brought him up to 19-19 overall with the Patriots when Brady hasn't started. Would Belichick have been the GOAT with another QB? I don't think so. Sorry...I guess my point was that having Brady helped make Belichick the goat and it also had an impact on Brady being a GOAT as well. I did not intend to compare Lovie with Beli as Beli is better, but more was referencing the fact that if Lovie had a QB like Brady (once he was good...I don't know that Lovie would have developed Brady into the QB he became) he would have also been pretty well. I should make things very clear, if I had to hire a head coach in this league...my three choices are Belicheck (1st) and the Harbaugh's. Pete Carroll would probably be next.

What happened to Zipser?

Watch the Bulls trade for Melo.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 12:09 PM) And if Wade grew up in Kentucky he doesn't sign with the Bulls. All the stars aligned for that one, but that is what the Bulls can do in free agency. Sign 35 year olds who grew up Bulls fans who get lowballed by their current team. Until or unless they get a Michael or Lebron or put together what Golden State put together, big time free agents aren't coming to freeze their ass off to be a 7th or 8th seed. A If you have $58M to spend, you have a chance to convince two guys to come play with Butler at which point you are in a great spot. The problem is, how likely is it that there will be two guys available. I think the plan has to get good role players via the trade while becoming a true contender via free agency (surrounding talent around Jimmy). I'd say a key will be landing a free agent this year and then again the following year (when Wade would come off the books). If Wade ultimately walks, then it might be more critical to land two pieces immediately. Gar / Pax also have to be very very slick / smart in how they manage their assets to ensure they keep payroll flexibility while ensuring they have good enough teams to be attractive enough to the point where two guys would look at Butler and the "supporting" cast and saying, hey, this team can go from 7th seed to 1st seed. Being in a major market and the eastern conference should only help that cause, especially as Lebron is starting to get older (although still amazing).

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 11:53 AM) They don't have the pieces to get Jahlil Okafor. I don't think we are the right team for Okafor. In a firesale, I do think I'd like to get him, but I highly doubt they want a package built around McDermott & Niko (for example). I think New Orleans makes a ton of sense for him (which is the rumor Jrue Holiday for Okafor deal) in the sense that Davis would cover up a ton of Okafor's weaknesses (i.e, that he is a defensive sieve and poor rebounder and help his strengths...which is that he looks like he can be a well above average offensive big man). The question I have is what does Philly want with Jrue...could there be a 3rd team involved to get Jrue as I could see that being the type of move the Bulls would be interested in. Trade deadline is getting closer and either Bulls need to make moves to try and get better now (probably something I wouldn't agree with unless it had a longer term benefit...ie, player around another few years) or they need to make moves to ensure they have assets in the future (ie. don't like Niko just walk, if you can get something for him that helps us down the road, do it now, before you lose an asset (and I call him that loosely at this point) for nothing. I do think with better coaching Niko is a good player (borderline starter and he easily should be a well above average bench piece).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 12:33 PM) Obviously he's a great coach, but he was 41-55 his first 6 seasons as a HC. So there is something he either figured out coaching-wise or personnel-wise that no one else seems to grasp. Yeah...he figured that the best QB of all time can make a good coach look like a genius. I'm fairly certain if you gave Aaron Rodgers to Lovie, he'd look like a genius too, same with a lot of other coaches. Not knocking Bill, but I tend to believe he gets more credit then he deserves. The Pats have made their fare share of bad moves, including the Chandler Jones trade. They also let Wes Welker walk to sign Amedola and in hindsight I think that was a poor move.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 11:58 AM) I was listening to the radio today and they were vehemently against the Bears trading for Jimmy G. I'd tend to agree. I think it'd be better if they drafted a QB instead of paying a premium for a 1 year rental (unless they tag/extend him). He is getting a big contract if we trade for him (pre-req for getting him). The big question I'd have is, if you are going to trade for a QB, is it Jimmy G, do you like at AJ McCarron, or do you just say screw it and offer up the #3 overall pick to Washington for Cousins and give him his big contract? I also don't know whether Washington would make that deal, part of that comes down to how amicable the two sides are in their negotiation. Cousins clearly wants to get paid top QB money and I presume he will become the highest paid QB in the league this year (not saying he's the best, just his contract will be the newest and thus in terms of guaranteed dough, he's going to get mega bucks).

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 10:56 AM) Probably. Doesn't mean he didn't sell a bill of goods to Gar If he did, that still gives the Bulls $58M or so under the cap and Jimmy Butler to sell the goods. Jimmy helped sell Wade on the Bulls.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 10:37 AM) Dude, Wade is absolutely opting out after this year and heading back to Miami. I don't know. Jimmy sure is pushing for Wade to stick around and Jimmy / Wade seem to be very tight. I could see Wade going to the Clippers or Cavs or something to play with one of his buddies, but I don't see him going back to Miami.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 09:46 AM) That's a better plan than being the Memphis Grizzlies IMO. Dallas Mavericks used the "Grizzlies" strategy for a while and won a title (and should have won two). A lot of people thought the Spurs should blow up when Duncan was aging...then they hit on Kawahi and won another title (obviously they have consistently been a title contender, but there were various points where people thought the Spurs should blow it up and can't possibly continue to contend). Miami heat with just Dwade (after Shaq got old) were not going anywhere, but didn't just blow up Wade...they waited and landed mega free agents and won a couple titles. Lakers with Kobe could have blown it up (almost did when they nearly traded him to the Bulls), then after a couple years of floundering, they were able to get Pau and win another couple titles. Celtics stuck around Pierce and eventually traded for two old star players and had a little run. Not saying the Bulls will do any of those things, but plenty of REAL examples of that success. If I look at most of the world series champions in baseball over recent years, the Cubs are really the only example of a team who blew things up and got good (under a current regime). Royals I will not count because they had a eternity between playoff runs. No other team really like the "Cubs" in that sense, imo. Giants had a bunch of championships and continuously try to rebuild on the go...Cards do basically the same and Red Sox / Yanks have gigantic pocket books.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 09:37 AM) I am not sure 3 wins is very much indicative of the roster the Bears had to start the year. Not to dive in on this and detract from the Bulls discussion, the Bears could have easily been 6-10. They lost 5-7 games by a single possession. They lost their #1, #2 and #3 QBs for the year. They lost their #2 receiver and 1st round pick for the year. They lost their #1 WR and one of their best defenders for four games each to steroids. They lost perhaps their best player in Kyle Long for the whole year. They lost their TE for the year. They lost their C for year before the season started. They lost perhaps their best defender in McPhee for multiple games. They lost Trevethen for the year. They had the worst secondary. Yeah, I am making excuses for them and good teams win close games but this was a "when it rains it pours" season for the Bears. It was just one thing after another after another. If the Bears have reasonable health next year and address the secondary they should improve incredibly. If they could find a QB, obviously huge task, they could compete for a champion pretty soon. The NFC isn't that tough a league. Finding a franchise QB is much easier that a superstar in the NBA. The best QBs after the top tier are from all across the draft. Wilson a 3rd rounder, Carr a 2nd rounder, Prescott a 4th rounder and Cousins was a 4th rounder. It's not like you need to pick in the first few picks to get a franchise-changing player like in the NBA. Bears have a strong front and some redeeming pieces on the offensive side. Just need to continue to accumulate depth and put their eggs in the right QB basket. Of course that's easier said than done but it's not as much of as an inhibitor of finding a superstar in the NBA. The Sox, while baseball is a total different beast with the playoffs being a crapshoot, are on the right path at least. They in a clear, committed direction. They suck for a couple years and they should have a budding young core with more prospects in tow with a boatload of money and a pending TV deal around 2019. Far better plan than that of the Bulls whether they opt to keep or move Butler. If the Bulls moved Butler and loaded up with picks, I'd still probably say they are in a better position or at least akin to the Sox. That said, I think your post is pretty spot on in general.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 09:35 AM) I'm not sure that guy doesn't exist in this year's draft. Just something media people are saying that haven't watched enough film yet. Lots of groupthink going on with this year's QB class. I would be fine with Kizer / Trubinsky. A little concerned with Watson...from the perspective his accuracy just isn't that great and didn't improve year over year. That said, you can't argue what he did on the biggest stages.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 09:31 AM) This is true. And if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle. So basically you should just never try unless you get Lebron or Jordan or Kobe? And if you aren't one of those teams you should just consistently tank until said generational talent appears?

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 09:30 AM) Not true. If the Bears get the right QB, they have a chance. That's the way it goes. s***, even when the Sox were floundering the past few years they had a shot. If they could have snuck in the playoffs during 1 of those seasons, Sale and Q could pitch their way to a World Series. Both teams have a much better chance at championships in the near future than the Bulls do. I can't believe it's even a question in that sport. See this is the difference between me and you. I agree if the Bears had the right QB...but they have went 50 years without having a good QB. You look at me and say, the Bulls can't possibly sign a big free agent and thus can't possibly win the title...but I could flip this same argument on the Bears. That said, I know you and I agree that the Bears need to stop ignoring QB and need to really focus on it. My view is you take a QB and if you miss, you take another...just keep doing it until you get it right. I can't believe how few times the Bears have even drafted QB's, especially early on.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 09:27 AM) You think they are the closest? How? We have different tv's man. I guess because I don't even know who the Bears QB is and the Sox went what 90 years without a title between years, so I'm not exactly ready to annoit them because they started a rebuilding plan this year and thanks to trading off all those parts finally have a top 5 farm system? I know a lot of those guys will bust and there is just as much likelihood that you turn into the Pirates / Royals (and end up sucking for 30 years). People tend to overrate / overhype unknown players. More so now that the Cubs became this, what would appear to be dynasty, but it wasn't just because they "tanked", they also spent a ton of money internationally and on free agents and lucked into Jake Arrietta (I'll call it luck although I'm sure they picked him for a reason, but no one can ever tell me they expected him to be the pitcher he was the past couple of years...just like I don't think RH / KW ever imagined Q would turn into the player he is). Every top 50 prospect is going to be an all star...until they aren't. So I just have a more realistic view (in my opinion) as to what our prospects are worth and what they will amount to. If I viewed every one of our prospects that is top 100 being an all star, then yes, I could say the Sox have a great chance, but I think that is completely and utterly unrealistic. If a year from now Moncada is smashing 40 hr's and putting up a 1.000 OPS, Tim Anderson is hitting .330 and playing great defense, and Giolito / Lopez / Rodon are looking lights out, while Kopech / Collins are top prospects at their position (and we added more talent in the draft), then I can maybe make that statement...today I think it is utterly premature. I think the current path for any of the three franchises to win a championship in the next few years is very unlikely, but if I were to bet on the most plausible scenario, I'd probably say the Bulls (and the odds would still be very low and would probably involve them landing a free agent now and then somehow getting an Anthony Davis or someone of that ilk via trade / free agency another couple years down the road...so not an immediate fix and probably pretty unlikely). They also would clearly need to start hitting on some draft picks as the Bulls would look much different if they hadn't whiffed on their recent 1st round picks.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 09:23 AM) I think they have $29 million in cap space if Wade stays, over $50 million if he flees. But I agree, the top free agents aren't coming here. Yep - They have tons of cap room. I don't know who exactly is coming, but with one free agent signing this team is basically a 3 seed in the east...which then puts them another piece away from being that much closer (and Lebron is getting older every year...so is Wade for that matter). Golden State is going to be tough to beat...you are going to need a legion of players to team up to knock Golden State off over the next couple of years (barring injuries), imo.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 8, 2017 -> 09:19 AM) They are no threat, and most likely will be no threat for quite a while, but to say the other teams are closer to a championship? 2 teams had worse records than the Bears in 2016. The White Sox weren't .500 and traded their 2 best players. These teams are years and years away. Maybe something happens this year that closes their gaps, but for me, if I can't see legit shot at title for any of them, I can't say one is clearly farther away than the other 2. If everything goes right for the Sox and/or Bears, then yes. I am with you...I can not see how one can argue that any of these franchises is closer to a championship and I still think the Bulls are probably the closet by nature, albeit it is a sport where I think it is hardest to win a championship (I think the other sports are easier in some sense because it is less likely at times that the best team actually wins). In basketball, I typically think the NBA champion is truly the best team (we could argue Golden State last year due to Curry's injury...but that is a rare exception, imo). In football, there are definitely years where the best team had a bad game and didn't even make the superbowl (baseball same thing...run into a hot team and the best team can fizzle out quickly).