Balls
I stayed up way past my bedtime last night to see the Chicago Bulls succumb late in the 5th game of the Eastern Conference Final against the Miami Heat.
Heat of course are the Galacticos of the NBA with a wageroll to shadow that of Manchester City and the team is less than half City’s in number.
The Bulls were ahead by 12 points with just over 3 minutes to go, but 180 seconds can be a long time in the NBA and with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade sparkling the Heat were level 2 minutes later. Then with 22 seconds on the clock Derrick Rose of all people missed from the free-throw line to level the scores at 81 each, and for the 2nd game running Miami came from behind late in the game to win after looking like they were beat. Think Man United.
Miami Heat now play the Dallas Mavericks in the Championship game.
The Bulls had a great season with 22-year old Derrick Rose bringing Michael Jordan-esque memories back to the Windy City. Rose was chosen as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player and with Luol Deng, Keith Bogans, Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Taj Gibson, Ronnie Brewer and Joakim Noah, the Bulls under new coach Tom Thibodeau lost only 20 of their 82 regular games.
All year the Bulls were viewed as the perfectly constructed team, but with Rose flourishing they relied on his scoring too much, and these days in the NBA one superstar player is not enough. Bulls will add to the team next year for sure, but probably more Arsenal than Chelsea.
However the Bulls have proved that they are back with the big boys. Coach Thibodeau, in his first season will become better, Rose meanwhile can become the best.
CA:
I must commend you on how being exposed to the NA culture for a few years, particularly the sports culture, you have picked up on it with great enthusiasm and an obvious appreciation of the general and finite nature of the particular genres in question.
As a young North American, I first embraced hockey, then baseball,football third and basketball fourth, in my own grouping of professional sports involvement.
Having said that,”soccer”is a magnificent game, when played as it should be played and I have to say that English Premiership football shows off the game as it is meant to be portrayed.
Yes, Champions League football is dramatic, emphatic and off-times really exciting, but overall, give me a good, solid Premiership match any day and I am a happy camper.
In any event, I know you have become a Chicago guy, with the Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Bears and Black Hawks and more power to you!
Chicago is a great city and I am sure you will cherish the memories of your stay there for the rest of your life!
As an aside, Toronto beat the Sox 4-2 tonight, to even the series at 1 – 1, with two games to go!
Go Jays!
I do indeed Bob.
The Bulls were who I probably got into the most. I saw a lot of the Cubs and it would always be an enjoyable time but the baseball was rather secondary! The White Sox did win the World Series when I was there though and the Bears made a Superbowl.
Since I’ve left the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup but in my time there Chicago hockey was ruined by either strikes, bad ownership or general ineptness.
I pleased for the Canucks, I’ve been following their play-off fortunes since I was in Vancouver a month ago.
This may come as a bit of a surprise, but I will be pulling for the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. My late Dad took me to my first NHL hockey game when I was about 7 years of age and he knew one of the Bruins, who he had coached locally. We were invited back to the dressing room after the 1-1 draw with Toronto and I met the players, was given an autographed stick and have been a Bruins fan ever since. Sadly, I have no idea what happened to the autographed stick!
Great story Bob. I have an inane dislike of Boston’s sports teams, but I hope the Bruins win for you.