NBA TODAY

[Cynique]

I've never gotten into March Madness or college basketball at all for that matter.  But. dating back to the early 90s during the Michael Jordan era and the dominance of the the Chicago Bulls team, I have been an NBA fan.  The Chicago Bulls provided their city with so many thrills and so much excitement during those days, and the memories of the nail-biting playoff games and the subequent championships  are really vivid.  I still have T-shirts and other memorabilia from back then and  every time I go to a Chicago Bulls game, it still sends chills up my spine to see the 6 Championship banners hanging from the rafters  in the United Center. 

 

Now I'm in a state of amazement as an injury-riddled Bulls team, minus most of its stellar starting line-up, reduced to an over-achieving  crew of 3rd string bench warmers, gears up to face the world champion Miami Heat in the semi final playoffs and who, after manning up and on the  strength of shear heart and determination, defeated the Brooklyn Nets in 7 games to get this far. Eat your heart out, Jay-Z

 

What is further remarkable about this is the situation with a perfectly healthy Bulls guard in the person of franchise player, Derek Rose, who has not played all season.  After sustainaing a serious knee injury last year, and going through therapy and re-hab, under the Svengali influence of his older, wanna-be manager brother, Reggie,  DRose,  has not returned to help his team. One by one other teams members  have gone down with injuries but elected to play through  pain, to help the team win and advance.  But not DRose whose priorities are more about his endorsements and sending a message to the Bulls organization, than about earning what he is being paid millions of dollars to do, and who has gone from hero to goat. This MVP player, once the darling of Chi-Town, now runs the risks of being booed if he decides to seek glory by returning to suit up against Miami and LeBron James.  Many, however, say he is the victim of a feud between his official manager, black BJ Armstrong a former Bull from the 90s championship team who is pissed off about being passed over for general managment job in favor of white John Paxton his former teammate. Local sports wrters all have their theories about what's the real story behind Rose's not playinig.   

 

Whatever.  Such is the nature of professional sports.  It's all about the money and about the perennial conflict between owners and players.  Fans, who fill the stadium paying for high-priced tickets are just caught in the middle. Chicago's hockey team, the BlackHawks are also in their league play offs, and many fans have deserted the Bulls to cheer for solely them. But I have faith in the tenacy of my guys.  After all, bulls are stubborn animals.

 

Anyway, the whole NBA picture looks different this season with a lot of upstart teams giving the veteran ones a run for their money.  Best of all is the first-round elimination of the vaunted LA Lakers and The Boston Celtics.   

 

Well, obviously nothing else going on in the world commands my interest.  I'm soooo sick of the vapidity of the pop culture scene and the treachery and lies of the political world and the hypocrisy of the religious one that I am reduced to watching grown men playing games to supply me with a distraction when I'm not totally enwrapped in the HBO series "Game of Thrones".  

 

Tonight I'll be cheering as my team begins its futile quest to become the giant killers.  It'll take courage and character to wage this battle, two traits sorely missing in today's world. 

 

GO GET EM, BULLS. I'm proud of you. It's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game.  Yeah, right. 

[Troy]

One down 3 to go!