What About Ben?

By StalkingEA

Here we are, a little more than a month from the start of training camp, and there is still no resolution in sight for Ben Gordon. In case you've been under a rock this off-season, Ben is a restricted free agent, which means the Bulls have the right to match any tender offer that another team signs him to. No other teams have offered him a contract.

Gordon wants to be the highest-paid Bull, since he is the led the Bulls in scoring over the last three seasons. That would put him in the $13 million range. The Bulls have $8 million in cap space, and have offered him a 1 year qualifying offer of about $6.4 million, which he won't even consider.

So now what? Ben is obviously not happy with the way the Bulls are handling this, but what leverage does he have? Does he go play in Europe, like Josh Childress did? OK, but that might help the Bulls by clearing part of the log jam at guard, and keeping some cap space free. Does he sit out a season? Not likely, as that would lower what he could get in a contract in the highly competitive NBA. Do the Bulls work out a sign and trade? Now you're talking!

OK, so they sign Ben to a contract he's happy with and then trade him to a team that can afford to pay him. Great! But wait, there's a reason that hasn't happened yet. Who's going to take him and give the Bulls some value in return? Memphis can afford to pay Ben, but what do they have that the Bulls want? Marc Gasol? Not gonna happen. On to the next possibility:

Andrei Kirilenko is Utah's most logical bargaining chip, and Chicago might be interested in him, although he plays a lot like Deng and Nocioni. It's possible the Bulls might feel they were duplicating talent by adding Kirilenko.

This is a pretty interesting article. The writer goes on to say that both teams would probably have to add more pieces to make a deal work, but I don't think the Bulls want to get into a major trade here. Besides, he's right, AK-47 plays the same position as Deng and Nocioni, and Coach Vinny already has a juggling act at guard.

What the Bulls need is to find a team with a big man, a center. The problem is, they just aren't out there. Zach Randolph is available from the Knicks, but his contract is enormous and he doesn't play defense. The previously mentioned Grizzlies have Darko Milicic, but they'd have to package more with him. I just don't see any deals out there that the Bulls would make.

I see Gordon signing maybe a 2 or 3 year deal for around $7.5 - 8 million per, just because he doesn't have another option. This will be a significant raise, but not enough to keep him happy. Look for the Bulls to then try to trade him during the season, when some other team realizes they need a scoring punch. I like Ben, he's been a quality player for the Bulls. I just wish there was a good way to keep him happy. I'll root for him as long as he plays here, and I'll wish him well if he goes. Just not if he plays against the Bulls.

Do Yourself A Favor: Fill Up Your Gas Tanks ASAP

If you enjoyed paying $4.20 in the suburbs, and close to $5 a gallon in the city, go ahead and wait til Wednesday when Hurricane Gustav fucks up most of the US refineries to fill up your car. If you perfer to pay $3.85/$4.40-50, then my prescription for you today other then get drunk is fill up your gas tank as soon as you get the chance. It looks as though Gustav will get to around a category 3 or 4 when it makes landfall, and while there will be a spike in gas prices, I just watched a report on CNN Money that says the oil rigs in the Gulf are now better prepared to handle stronger winds then before. Even still, I'm saving you some money so trust me!

In other programming notes, Noce will have a preview in the case of Sox v. Sox, and I'll follow that up with your usual weekend send off.

The MLB Is Starting To Catch Onto This Whole Blogging Thing

The MLB is unveiling their new postseason ad campaign today, notes Tim Arango of the NY Times.

One of the first commercials aired? The Lovable Losers' 100 years of ineptitude boiled down to 30 seconds. Look, Cubs fans! More about your personal anguish that you didn't already know! The MLB is not fooling around with one of sports' biggest fan bases and the story lines unfolding, as Bud Selig and cronies dish out $65 million for this year, the largest amount spent ads thus far in MLB history.

I guess with the nightmare that both the Red Sox and the Yankees potentially not in the playoffs, the MLB better start hyping what they got up right away.

And to whom are they hyping October baseball? Why, those pesky bloggers!:

This year M.L.B. and its playoff and World Series broadcast partners, Fox and TBS, decided to showcase a different aspect of life on the Internet: blogging, which will be a common thread in the 20 or so advertisements.

“Blogging is kind of the high currency in the interactive space right now" said Tim Brosnan, the league’s executive vice president for business.”

Ok, so let's start off with the good news: NO MORE DANE COOK!

{starts the happy dance}

And the bad news? Lots and Lots of Frank Caliendo, Bill Engvall, and other Fox/TBS stars.

{sits back down, smile quickly fades}

The MLB will be the first of the major sports to tailor specifically to the growing blogfrica sphere, and I think it will be interesting to see what David Stern and Roger Goodell do in the coming future with their advertising. I would imagine the NBA stepping up to do something similar to the MLB before the NFL would. Goodell could get Gilbert Godfried in a rat suit and say playoffs start Saturday, and the ad would probably be considered a classic.

The ad campaign in my opinion sounds pretty interesting, as they will fit the ads to what happens in September.

Way to go, MLB! Thanks for acknowledging us out on your lawn. I can't wait to blog about your blogging commercials while sipping hot coco in mom's basement.

Danger John Danks! Danger!

After watching John Danks last night struggle to hit 91 on the gun last night while throwing the ball anywhere other then A.J. wanted, my personal Sox terror level elevated somewhere to in between guarded and elevated.

With his 27th game started last night (one more then last year), the big concern that popped into my head was this: is Danks starting wear down? Mark Gonzalez apparently was thinking the same after the game and asked Danks the same thing:

"Danks insisted his left arm feels fine after throwing a professional-high 1602/3 innings..."My breaking stuff wasn't there. It just wasn't there. My changeup was up. I was just flat-out bad."

I would believe him at this point; everyone has off nights. But to play Devil's advocate do you really think he would admit to having a tired arm to a beat writer? Yeah Mark, my arm is complete jello right now. I've been working with Coop on how to throw a vaseline ball just like Harris in Major League. I've been wiping my nose but apparently that's not going to work.

The same can be wondered at this point for Gavin Floyd as well. Floyd has also pitched 160 innings to this point, but with far less innings pitched in a season then Danks (70 IP last yr). Despite going 3-0 for August, his ERA over the month (4.97) was a run higher then his previous high water mark this year.

Danks and Floyd have combined for a 24-13 record on the year with a combined ERA of 3.50 which is far beyond I would have imagined heading into the season at this point as well as many other Sox fans I assume as well. But with 5 weeks left in the season, and 5 more starts for each pitcher, their great accomplishments this year will not be remembered if they start to wear down with the "Piranyas" nipping at the Sox heels.

The Sox need Danks and Floyd now more then ever to keep the breathing room they have on not only the Twins, but the Red Sox and Rays for a playoff birth. Let's hope there's still enough fuel in the tank for these two keep it going. The Sox certainly don't need more Clayton Richard's up here running around.

Tight Pennant Race? More Booze For Ozzie, Please

I can identify with Ozzie Guillen for many reasons other then just being the manager of the White Sox. He likes to speak his mind, and does so with lots of profanity just like me...Hmm, on the other hand Ozzie is Venezulean, married, has kids, played in the majors and makes millions. I'm white, single, no kids (that I know of), played little league and make thousands. Maybe that's the only thing. Oh wait, we also share the need to kick back with a copious amount of booze to unwind from a stressful day at work.

Whether it's fitting in with others:
"I am their friend. If they don't buy me a beer, they disrespect me."

Making a decision on tough issues:
"I don't know," Guillen said. "I need to get drunk and think about it."

Or celebrating:
"The only thing I remember is the base hit [Alexei] Ramirez got yesterday to right field to win the game," Guillen said of the Sox' thrilling victory Sunday over the Tampa Bay Rays -- the AL East's new first-place team. "There was a lot of vodka between that game and today, believe me."

Ozzie and Dr. C agree that there's nothing like a good stiff drink. But what I'm being to wonder:

Do you think Ozzie has ever been drunk while coaching? Baseball would be the easiest sport to get hammered and not really have anyone notice. You've got 9 innings to sober if you get drunk before hand, and with a couple mints you'd be good to go for postgame interviews.

And besides, Ozzie's so fucking crazy who would even be able to tell if was half in the bag?

Weekend Send-Off: New Metallica

I'm literally counting down the days to September 12th when Death Magnetic hits the stores. This is the new single called "The Day That Never Comes" and it just came out today. The quality is kinda shitty, but if you want the good version, here's a link I have a feeling it will be better then everything since the Black album, but they'll never be 80's Metallica again. They don't know those drunk kids anymore.

ADDED BONUS: Noce wanted some CCR, and since I'm a nice guy I decided to throw it in for him.

"How about a Gene pick?"

Gene's trash!

"I'm Gene."

Bears vs. Themselves vs. 49ers Tonight

I have to be honest, I haven't been paying much attention to the Bears this year. And I've been a whole lot happier because of it.

I have probably watched 10 minutes of Bear football this year and I think in those 10 minutes I uttered somewhere around 75 "fucks!", "assholes!", "holy shits!" and "what the fuck are you doing you fucking assholes?".

I just cannot comprehend some of the decisions that the coaches make on a play-by-play basis - and this is pretty much just talking about the offensive side of the ball.

I understand that getting upset about the Bears' offense is about as productive as an Apple II, but I just can't seem to wrap my brain around the idea that it's ok for a PROFESSIONAL NFL OFFENSE to suck more balls than John Amaechi. It's like we're hypnotized to believe that the offense can produce jack shit and if the team wins, everything is fine.

I guess I shouldn't expect much from the Bears fanbase when it comes to football knowlege and realistic expectations. Hell, at least half of the fan base accounts for Cubs fans and we all know how smart and professional they are up in Wrigleyville.

I'm not totally absolving the Bears fans who support the Sox either, because we know they have had their fair share of incidents as well (I was actually at that game). Sox fans have managed to at least appear informed about their team though, something that seems to elude those Old Style swilling yuppies on the North side.

Regardless of the baseball allegiances, there is one NFL team in Chicago and it's fucking unbelievable that we fans allow them to march out guys who wouldn't make the practice squads on some NFL teams and think it's okay for a QB rating of 75.2. These guys are supposed to be pros people!

If anyone has the opportunity - go down to Indianapolis and watch how they operate. Think their fans go into the stadium talking about how their key is to win the battle for "field position"? Fuck no. Think Colts fans are excited when the team gets their first 1st down in the waning minutes of the 2nd quarter? Think that has even happened since Peyton Manning took over? (I really don't know so if you wanna look that up - be my guest, but I'd put money on no)

Granted they have a HOF quarterback in Manning but they still have players around him that compete at an NFL level day-in and day-out, which is something the Bears simply cannot say. Digging up old has-beens and never-weres off the scrap heap (Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd) and trotting out an offensive line with more holes than Augusta National doesn't cut it Lovie.

And if it's not Lovie's fault (he is supposed to be a defensive guy after all) then what the fuck is Ron Turner still doing with a job? This guy has been as bad or worse than the guy whose favorite 3rd down play was the draw (see: John Shoop). Not only that, every year we have to hear about how Turner is "installing his system", which immediately makes me think of a panda bear taking a gigantic dump on a pack of fire ants.

I would like to challenge any Bears beat writer to sit next to Turner in the booth and just take notes of what he does during the games. I'm willing to bet that half the time he spends "calling plays" is really just him playing Battleship against himself.

God, I fucking hate Ron Turner.

See - even thinking about the Bears makes me angry. What the hell was this post about again? Oh yea - fucking stupid Bears and their shitty offense. I hope the whole offense (minus Kreutz - I can't stay mad at him) gets lost on the way to the game tonight and they're forced to play the defensive players on offense (there will be no difference) just to see what happens.

The Sox better make the damn playoffs because I'm going to need something to keep me from poking out my own eyes in a fit of rage.