NFL Blog Challenge - "At a Loss" for Words

"Welcome to Atlanta where the playas play." Unfortunately on Sunday night, those players played for the Falcons and not my beloved Chicago Bears. It was a good game all the way through. Chicago jumped out to a 7-0 lead. After switching to a no huddle offense, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan lead his offense to two second quarter touchdowns. The Bears tied it up in the fourth quarter, but on the ensuing kickoff, some guy that on my TV screen looked like he should be playing high school football, and not in the NFL, ran the ball back deep into Chicago territory. (Eric Weems is his name). At that point, I kinda figured it was over. Atlanta went on to score. The Bears made a late effort and tying the game, but it was not to be. The final score was Atl 21 Chi 14.

So this is where I have to praise Atlanta. The Bears have an above average defense. And the strength of that defense is normally our defensive line. But all game, Matt Ryan had enough time to snap the ball, look around the crowd for his woman, check his email, and still deliver the ball to any number of his receivers. The Bears finished the night with 0 sacks. And just to show you how bad it was, they also finished with 0 QB hits. By contrast, the Falcons finished with 2 sacks, and 7 QB hits. In their last game against the Detroit Lions, the Bears defense had 5 sacks, and 9 QB hits. So big props to the Falcons offensive line. The funny thing is that their line has no one on it that you would consider a star.

So for a second consecutive year, the Dirty Birds got the better of my beloved Bears. You look good Atlanta.

Shouts out to 12Kyle for accepting the challenge and his team for stepping up and handling their business. Sorry this was posted so late. But good looking.

Not sure if there are any Cincinnati Bengals fans in the building but if so you know the routine hit us up for the challenge.

--Driza Dre--

NFL Blog Challenge - Week 6

Well after a week off I hope our Chicago Bears are well rested and ready for this Sunday's game. This week we're challenging 12kyle's Atlanta Falcons. The bears have had a good season start so far beginning at 3-1. However, the Falcons have the exact same record at this point in the season. We're down for our team and have confidence in them, but will admit that this will not be an easy win. So with that said let's get it! **G-Dep Voice**

If your team is playing ours this season feel free to hit us up for a challenge. See the first NFL Blog Challenge for the basic rules and regulations. The Chicago Bears schedule is below so hit us up to get in on the action. Namely we're looking to cover the next 2 weeks so we're looking for any Ohio folks that represent either the Bengals or the Browns.

Any fans of The Bears or The Falcons feel free to get in on the trash talking that will be taking place Sunday night. We'll be doing so via twitter. @crecks or @12kyle.

Let's Go Bears!!!

--C-Recks--

--Driza Dre--

Sweet Victory!!

Well in our first NFL Blog Challenge our Chicago Bears were victorious over Mr Chap and his Detroit Lions. It was a good 1st half and they gave us a run for our money. However, we had to put the hammer down on them in the 2nd half and shut them out. It felt good to sip my beer as I watched my Bears handle their business. But for losing Mr. Chap was a good sport and held up his end of the bargain and posted a blog about the challenge and the Bears victory. You can check it out here.

Check out the schedule football fans! The bears have a bye week next week. But we'll be right back at it come the following week vs the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati and Cleveland the 2 weeks after. If there are any Bengals or Browns fans make sure you holla at us for the challenge. We already have 12kyle over at 12th Planet as our next victim set for the Atlanta Falcons challenge. But we welcome any more Atlanta challengers to bring it on!


--C-Recks--
--Driza Dre--

NFL Blog Challenge

Are you ready for some Foooooootballll???!!???

Well I'm not sure how many of you out there are football fans, but I'm sure those of you that are football fanatics like us are thrilled football season is back. I'm sure that everyone is loving being able to root on their favorite teams. As for us you should already know that we're die hard Chicago Bears fans. We've been down since the 80's and our last Super Bowl victory. Although we fell short a couple of years ago from bringing home that Super Bowl trophy we're confident we'll be back soon.

Now I must admit it has been an eventful season thus far and we're only 4 weeks in. There are a lot of good teams out there that came out the gate running and are trying to make themselves valid contenders this season. But regardless as die hard Bears fans we will ride or die with our team, and hopefully most of you feel that same way about your teams. Now not only are we ride or die fans if you've read our blog before you know that we are also very competitive and also like to gamble.

So with that being said we've decided to throw out the First Annual NFL Blog Challenge. So we're calling out all bloggers to step up and rep your NFL team. That's right our team vs. your team. When our team (The Chicago Bears) plays your team we want someone to accept this challenge. The blogger of the winning team gets bragging rights all season (or until the next time the 2 teams play). However, the blogger of the losing team must write a blog post admitting that their team lost to ours and give mad props to our Chicago Bears. You can do that in any form or fashion you choose just as long as you admit that your team was not up to par and lost the game. So are you down? Is your team good enough to compete? If so hit us up by either comment or emailing at callmecrecks@gmail.com.

This season's Chicago Bear Schedule is listed below so be on the look out for when we play your team. Also, keep in mind it can be multiple bloggers vs us. The same rules apply. If we lose we'll give all that chose that team against ours their props. Also, we'll try to post a preview of that weekend's match up in a blog sometime before the game. Just keep in mind it's all fun and games we love the bears but we won't go to the extreme badgering a fellow blogger. However, that doesn't mean we won't talk some shit and exchange a few verbal jabs about the other team! LoL.

As for this Sunday's match up The Chicago Bears are taking on The Detroit Lions. Our first opponent in this NFL Blog Challenge is none other than MR. CHAP from the MR. CHAP Morning Show. He's accepted our challenge and is confident that his Lions will defeat our Bears on Sunday. Or as he was quoted to say: "I'm in. So I'm just gonna gone head and start braggin' on the Lions. THEN I'm coming to YOUR BLOG and talk super trash. THEN I'm coming back to MY site and blog about the game and how important this Sunday is." and "I really just needed a segway into talking about how bad the Lions are gonna put those Bears into early hibernation. AND we're gonna do it in Chicago."

Now I gave Mr. Chap his props when his team won their first game in over a whole season. I was proud they broke that streak. My brother's response to his comment was "I guess he and The Detroit Lions would know about hibernation, I mean his team just woke up for the first time in damn near 2 years!" LoL. I'll reserve my comments and trash talking until game day. So expect a lot of @ replies from me @crecks to @mrchap via twitter. So feel free to join in if you're one of my twitter followers.

Well regardless of the outcome, which I'm predicting will be in Da' Bears favor, whenever there is something riding on the game it makes it that much better to watch. So what are you waiting for rep your team and let's make this football season a little more interesting. Oh and to all my fellow Chicago Bloggers or readers please go pay a visit to Mr. Chaps wonderful site and leave some comments about how bad his team is going to lose on Sunday.

--C-Recks--

--Driza Dre--

Repost: Best of Both Worlds

Since today is SuperBowl Sunday I thought this old post from September would perfect to repost today.

There's a new White commercial that has been recently airing. I wasn't able to find the video online so you'll have to settle for my description. If you need to view a previous version of the "when the crave calls" commercial click the link. They're all virtually the same basis just with different scenarios. The basic premise behind this particular commercial is this. A guy and a girl are on the couch and look to have just been "fooling around" and the girl says "I'll be right back and don't you go any where." Basically she's letting him know that she's going to go slip into something a little more "comfortable". Well as she walks away the guy's cell phone rings. Well the caller on the other end is not really a person but the crave calling him to come eat White Castles (cue the music). The man tries to reason and explain that it's not a good time right now. The music plays again indicating that the crave is very insistent on him coming right now! Unable to resist the crave, and in true fictional fashion the guy chooses to answer the crave and runs out of the door. Just as he exits a scantily clad female walks out wondering where he went.

Now yes the commercial did bring about a bit of a laugh. But one of the times I saw this commercial I was on the phone with my brother and we were both watching the same Chicago Bears game. Well of course he agreed just as probably any guy that watched this commercial would and said there's no way that they would choose hunger over even the slightest possibility that sex is going down. Especially in the case of the commercial where this man was 99.9% golden pending he wasn't one of those unfortunate men that require a little blue pill and forgot to take it. LoL. Being of the male species I can and will keep it real with you. Let's say a man just got released from being held hostage for months I'm talking having been starved and tortured John McCain style (We've all heard the story by now). However, upon his release if you immediately put on a table a sandwich (with the works ham, turkey, salami, cheese, bacon, etc.) and next to that sandwich a naked woman I'm willing to bet all I have that 90% of the time the man will take the naked woman. Now perhaps midway through handling his business he may take a quick bite of the sandwich to keep his energy up, but the initial reaction is all the evidence I need to win the bet. LoL!

Well I thought that my theory was bullet proof like 50 Cent, that was until someone posed this question to me the other day. I will attempt to phrase the question just as it was stated to me.

"Let's say it's Super Bowl Sunday and you're having a Super Bowl Party. So you've got good food, lots of beer, the big plasma TV, some good friends and family and the most comfortable seat in house all ready for the Big Game. What if right before the opening kick off your wife or girlfriend calls you to the room. You run to the room as to not miss any of the game and upon entering the room she greets you naked and wants you to have sex right then and there. What do you do?"

Now unlike my previous example with the food vs sex, for some reason I was just a bit puzzled as to what my answer would be. My very first thought is what kind of nymphomaniac freak have I married or gotten involved with that would even put me in the position to make this choice? LoL. I mean does she not know that I have watched game after game week after week (16+ in total) in order to see this one game? Does she not know I've watched my favorite team lose heart breaking games and even perhaps miss the playoffs this year? If she's my wife or girlfriend then she has to know all of this. So why oh why would she do this to me?

Alright I know this is by far not the worst position to be put in world but still it's a decision that I would prefer not to have to make. I can see the angel and the devil on my shoulder trying to get me to choose sides. Except in this case I don't know which is the good side and which is the bad side. But on one side there's a man with a football referee uniform on and the other is a woman with an angel robe on and a cheerleader outfit under it. Now both have valid arguments as to why I should choose one over the other.

Ref: Why are we even having this debate we've done the coin toss time for the kick off get out there on the field game on!! (Blows whistle).

Angel: It's sex!!

Ref: That's all you have to say to plead your case? It's sex? Would you tell her to put some clothes on and come back out here so you don't miss any of the game.

Angel: It's SEX!!

Ref: Is this really your argument? So you think that just because it's sex he's supposed to miss the biggest game of the year? You bought that 55inch Plasma screen just for this game!

Angel: Let's Talk about sex baby... (Singing the words to Salt and Peppa's song).

Ref: See this is B.S. it's Super Bowl Sunday. You have cold beer, snacks, and the best damn sporting event waiting on you what's to think about?

Angel: S.E.X. take a deep breath and think before you let it goooo!!... (Singing the words to Lyfe Jennings' song).

Ref: (Blow Whistle and throws flag!!) Personal Foul unnecessary singing!!

Angel: Listen this is all I have to say. No, it's not sex again. But there's a beautiful naked woman here ready and willing. Now you mean to tell me you'd rather watch a man take a snap from behind another man when you could be taking your own snap with her as your center?

Ref: Man she's your girl she's not going no where why does it have to be now? How about you sacrifice the half time show. (Whispers: Don't worry Janet Jackson isn't performing this year) You can come and finish this then.

Angel: Oh trust it'll be too late by then and you'll probably be sacrificing about a months worth of sex and your bed. So I hope that Lazy Boy is extra comfy.

Ref: (Blows Whistle) Injury timeout on the field. Get my man an ice pack for his future blue balls!! Because we're still going back to watch the game right?

Angel: Okay here's the last chance and the last option for you. Tivo or DVR. You do your thing here and when you get done go back and rewind the game and watch from the beginning. You'll both be happy, she gets what she wants (sex) and you still get what you want (the game). You can skip the commercials and the half time show and come back and watch them later and by the end of half time you'll be back watching the game live. So what do you say?

Ref: I think I saw a challenge flag thrown.

Me: Well she does have some valid points I think I'll take her last option.

Ref: After further review of the play the ruling on the field stands: This is some bullshit!!

Angel: No man can resist you were fighting a losing battle.

(Both poof and disappear)

Well in actually the thought process of that decision took a matter of a few seconds but believe it or not all of those things went through my head before I gave my answer to the question. The DVR option was in fact my final answer by the way. Thank God for technology. LoL. But on the real I just can't imagine being put in a situation such as that. I mean I love Football and sports but does it outweigh a man's desire to want to have sex?

Before I go just just a quick word of advice to the ladies. Please don't do any nonsense such as this to your men. Now if it's preseason, even regular season then let's make it happen, I'll even miss the whole game. And although it's a stretch, I may even make an exception for the playoffs. But on Super Bowl Sunday this is just torture. Although most will choose the sex option there will be plenty of resentment behind it. And no offense he's not doing it because he wants you oh so bad at that moment. It's because he doesn't want to face the possible consequences of choosing football over you. So a simple solution to this is to go ahead and watch the game with him. You may not know what the hell is going on but just sit quietly and ask very few questions during the game. When he cheers just cheer right along with him. Keep a cold beer near and a few snacks within arms reach. And if he's happy with the outcome of the game celebrate with him and if he's sad or upset just don't bring it up at all. If you can do this one thing then trust and believe your man will do anything you want the day after the game. His honeydew list will be completed and he'll be rubbing your feet and feeding you grapes. Well maybe that's a stretch but he will appreciate this gesture and you will be rewarded generously for it.

P.S. To the guys. You know how they say most guys break up with their girlfriends before Christmas and stay single until after Valentines Day? Well the Super Bowl is usually before Valentines Day. Hint Hint. LoL.

--C-Recks--

Off Da Hooky!!

Many of you are off of work today in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Unfortunately, I'm not as lucky as some of you. My job doesn't give me the option to have this day off, so I'm here still slaving. And yeah I'm kinda hating on y'all on the low. LoL. However, I do plan on calling in sick tomorrow.

Yes we all know that tomorrow is the day we've been waiting for since November 4th. Yes the inauguration of our nation's first black President Barack Obama will take place tomorrow. Some of you lucky individuals will have the opportunity to attend the historic event in person. I will not be in attendance, so for those of you that do attend, I look forward to hearing all about it. So you're probably wondering why am I calling off then?

Well the reason I plan on calling off is because I have a job interview tomorrow. Now I won't front things at my job are on very thin ice, and at times I feel like I weigh 500 pounds. For this and many other reasons I have been trying to find a new job. So, as ecstatic as I was when I got that call back after my phone interview to interview in person, I was still reluctant. The reason being that the only date they had available for this interview is tomorrow. Yep the same day as the inauguration. Just in case you're still wondering what's the big deal I'll break it down even further.

I'm the ONLY black person in my office now. Tomorrow is the inauguration for our first black President. Therefore, I feel like regardless of what excuse I use to call off, in their minds they'll be thinking "bullshit, this nigga is just calling off because of the inauguration." Well that is false I will actually miss the majority, if not all of the inauguration due to the scheduled time of the interview. But it's cool I got my DVR set to record. As much as I'd like to watch live, unless Barack is going to hook me up with a job I'm going to have to check out the DVR version of the inauguration. LoL.

But this whole calling off tomorrow got me to thinking about excuses and reasons used to call off from work. I don't call off too often, but the times I have I'm sure I've used some type of excuse that they just had to accept as truth. For instance, my brother and I took a road trip to St. Louis, Mo. back in November to watch the Chicago Bears play against the St. Louis Rams. After drinking during tailgating and during the game, we knew we weren't driving back home to Chicago. Which meant I would have to call off work on Monday morning. Well since I was quite intoxicated it was nothing for me to wake up early that morning and in my best sick voice call off. I mean technically I was sick right? Plus sick voice and hang over voice pretty much sound the same so no one could tell the difference.

Funny thing about that story is when I came back to work that Tuesday a co-worker of mines asks me "Did you go to the game Sunday?" I immediately said no. Then she goes "oh okay I just asked because I went and someone told me you may have been going." Dammit I forgot I told one person in advance I may be attending the game. Also, I remembered my brother saying he was on the Jumbo Tron and he was excited about it. So I'm thinking to myself I hope she didn't see me on the screen as well. Luckily, this is someone that I'm cool with so she wouldn't snitch on me. I hope. But I just found it funny.

Now as a general rule I try not to call off with excuses that involve any type of emergency for fear they may come true. For instance, I've never really used the whole "my son is sick or had an accident" excuse. Only because I would feel horrible if something were to happen to him or if he got sick after me saying so. However, I won't hesitate to claim I'm sick or something that has to do with me.

So to be honest I have no clue what excuse I will be using tomorrow when I call off. I may just freestyle it as the phone rings and come off the cuff. I'm good like that. LoL. But I tried to find some info online that would be informative but this is all I got. "The top three reasons healthy employees call out sick, something 35% of workers admit to are personal errands, appointments, catching up on sleep, and simply relaxing, according to hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder.com. They had some bizarre excuses used by some employees, but they were simply stupid excuses that would never fly or even be believed by the stupidest of managers. For instance "I was sprayed by a skunk, I was spit on by a venomous snake, or a hit man was looking for me."

Needless to say I won't be using any of those dumb excuses. However, I'm curious to know what excuses you guys would suggest for me to use? Also, what are your most outrageous and or frequently used excuses to call off from work? (That worked of course). Hopefully, the whole interview on inauguration day will have some significance and I'll land this job. Wish me luck y'all. Below is a funny clip about black people calling off from work by D.L. Hughley. Classic Material. The part I'm referring runs from about the 1:00 to 1:45 minute mark.

**** UPDATE ****
For those of you that may be wondering what excuse did I come up with to call off today here it is. I left a voice mail saying this. "Hi _(Manager)_ I'm calling because I just dropped my son off at Pre-School and on my way to work they called me and said I had to come back and pick him back up because a bunch of kids were sick. My son was just sick last week so I don't want him to be exposed. My son's mom and grandparents are out of town so I'm the only one available to watch him. I will try to see if I can find a sitter and come in later I will let you know."

I called later. "I was unable to find anyone to watch my son so I will just be in tomorrow morning any questions or suggestions you can call me at #...."

The interview went very well. Hopefully, I'll have some good news come next week. But we'll see tomorrow the reaction I get for me having called off today.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

--C-Recks--

What's In a Name?

"You got a bad name like Dick Butkis" - J-Ro of the Alkaholiks from "Another Level"

For those who don't know, Dick Butkis was a Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears. As a life long Bears fan, I've always known who he was, but it wasn't until I heard this song that I had ever analyzed his name. And yes, it had to be hard growing up with a name like that. (Kids can be so cruel). I myself have a rather unusual name. I mean, a black man in America named Andreas? Can't say that I've run across any other black man with my name. As a matter of fact, I hated my name when I was a kid. (Like 5 and 6). I wanted to change my name to Michael. Thank God I came to my senses. No offense to any Michael's in the audience, its just that I have a unique personality. And thus my unique name fits me. Plus I think its kinda cool to be named after my mom Andrea. (Yes I know I'm pandering, but hey, Christmas is coming up, and I can always use the extra brownie points. Lol).

With all of that being said, I want to nominate Heath and Deborah Campbell of Hunterdon County, NJ, as the worse parents in the world. I've never met Heath or Deborah, but after reading this, I think you'll agree with me. Heath and Deborah have three children. The oldest being a son named...(wait for it)... Adolf Hitler Campbell. I swear I'm not making this up. Young Adolf turned 3 recently. Like all parents, Heath and Deborah wanted to get him a birthday cake with his name on it. They contacted their local grocery store, and tried to place an order for the cake. But there's one simple twist. Heath and Deborah asked for his entire name to be placed on the cake. Well, needless to say, the store declined their request.

Heath and Deborah were eventually able to get the cake of their choice at a Wal-mart in Pennsylvania. I don't know how this story made it to the public square, but Heath did an interview in which he said "I think people need to take their heads out of the cloud they've been in and start focusing on the future and not the past." Well Heath, I must tell you that when you name your child after someone who is, almost, single handedly responsible for the murder of 6 million people, its sure to raise more than an eyebrow or two. It actually trips me out that this dude is claiming some kind of ignorance about the response to his and his wife's actions. Heath made a further mockery of himself by asserting that "There's a new President and he says that it's time for a change; well then it's time for a change. They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what (Hitler) did."

While that might not be the case, you have to admit Heath, there's a certain racist element to naming you child Adolf Hitler. When that issue was brought up, Deborah Campbell revealed that 12 people attended the party, including several mixed children. As Heath exclaimed "If we're so racist, then why would I have them come into my home?" Well Heath, I can't explain the logic behind that decision. However I will say this about your "possibly" racist tendencies. Its bad enough that you named you son Adolf Hitler Campbell. But when your wife gave birth to a daughter a year later, you and Deborah decided to name her................(wait for it).................. JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell. (I shit you not). Now Heath, can I be real with you? I might have been able to let you slide with the whole Adolf thing. Not my preference, but to each his own. But picking "Aryan Nation" as your daughter's middle name; well, that just slaps of an agenda. A RACIST one! Their third child's name is Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell. I can't say that there's anything overtly racist about that name, but given Heath and Deborah's track record, I will be doing some investigating.

Heath said that they named their son Adolf Hitler because "no one else in the world will have that name." Well Heath, you're probably wrong. I'm sure that somewhere in this world of 8 billion people, some other racist MF had the very same idea as you. They just didn't call their local grocery store and try and order a birthday cake with his name on it. I understand the concept unique names, but can we draw the line somewhere? I blame Hollywood for this crap. You know, the people naming their children such things as Apple (Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter), Audio Science (Shannyn Sossamon's son), Diva Muffin and Moon Unit (Frank Zappa's daughters), Pilot Inspektor (Jason Lee's son), and Zuma Nesta Rock (Gwen Stefani's daughter).

Again, I understand the need to want to name your children something unique. But as a parent, you're supposed to put your children's needs ahead of your own personal agenda. And there's no way you can't say that young Adolf wouldn't have an easier time going through life as Michael Campbell.

-DrizaDre-

Pressing Issues

Sometimes, after the game is when the real fun begins. In this era of the 24 hour news cycle, a player's or coach's performance off the field is almost as important as their performance on. Press conferences are done before and after the game, and in the case of the coaches, during the games as well. The thing that I love is when these press conferences go off the rail. In this blog I want to name my top five favorite press conferences. I know that this is a sports topic, but even if you're not into sports, you will definitely find comedy in these.

Recently, one of my childhood heroes, Mike Singletary, was named head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. On Sunday they lost to the Seahawks. In the game, Niners tight end Vernon Davis was penalized for taunting. In response, Singletary sent Davis to the showers early. This interaction between Davis and Singletary was the backdrop for this classic press conference! My man Singletary came out the gate swinging. With that, its my number 5 most memorable press conference.




Although we've used this video before in one of our Man Up Rules, the Dallas Cowboys made an unexpected exit from last year's NFL postseason. In their loss to the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, quarterback Tony Romo gave a less than stellar performance. Given that he had gone on vacation to Mexico with girlfriend Jessica Simpson during the team's off week, Romo was under heavy scrutiny after the loss. T.O. to the rescue. Here's my number 4 most memorable press conference.




I don't even know how to really describe this one. I guess Oklahoma St. coach Mike Gundy had just had enough. Oh don't get me wrong, his team won the game. Mike just felt the need to undress the members of the media who were present. And after you watch this interview, you may feel a little naked yourself. My number 3 best press conference.




At the end of the 2001-02 season, the rift between Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson, and their head coach Larry Brown had reached a boiling point. The point of contention between the two of them will become very apparent when you watch this video. This is no practice, Iverson has my number 2 best press conference.




And drum roll please. My choice for number 1 press conference goes to Dennis Green. Former coach of the Arizona Cardinals. On October 16, 2006, his Arizona Cardinals held a 20 point lead going into the waning seconds of the 3rd quarter against the Chicago Bears. What ensued was probably the second best comeback I've ever seen in my life. (Second only to Frank Reich's 35 point comeback against the Houston Oilers). Well lets just say that Coach Green was not as enthused at what he had just seen. The following is his reaction.




The press conferences has become a an essential to life in sports. I can't imagine having to stand front and center, and field questions from people who believe they can do what you do better than you. Even though they haven't thrown a pitch since their stellar little league season at the age of 11. So as long as there are reporters who ask a player who just lost a game "so how does it feel"?, I'll continue to update my list of the best press conferences.


-DrizaDre-

A Rose By Any Other Name

On June 26th, a life long dream of Derrick Rose was realized. He was drafted into the NBA. And while that alone may have made some of us the happiest people ever to have walked the earth, Rose was blessed with an added bonus: He was drafted by his hometown Chicago Bulls. Born and raised on the southside of Chicago, Rose, just 19, grew up during the heyday of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the 6 championships of the 1990's.

For those of you who are not from Chicago, let me tell you a little bit of what those championships meant to my hometown. See, we hadn't won anything since the Bears took it all in 1985. And prior to that, well lets just say that there were large segments of the population that were born, got married, had children, fought in wars, had grandchildren, and had gone to glory without ever seeing a championship celebrated within Chicago's city limits. And also, the Bears were a great team. Not just in 1985, but a few years following. However 1985 remained the only championship my city would see.

Now fast forward to 1991. The Bulls thumped their long time nemesis in the Detroit Pistons. (The team that eliminated them in the previous three straight playoff appearances. F-U Bad Boys!). Bring on Magic Johnson. Well, in a hard fought series, Michael Jordan led us to the promise land. And again in 1992. And so on and so on. Michael and his cohorts made Chicago into title town. No longer were we the second city.(Hell, with so many people moving to L.A., we actually became the third city. Thanks Curtis).

Then came that fateful time in 1998. Mike, and the rest of the squad was broken up, and traded for little or nothing. (As fans, it felt like we were children watching our parents go through a painful and bitter divorce). This is where the real purpose of this blog comes in. Though the magic of the Bulls getting the number one pick this year draft was great, (they only had a 1.7% chance in the lottery) I have little confidence in the Bulls having chosen the best player for the team.

In 1987, the Bulls drafted Horace Grant, and Olden Polynice. They then traded Olden Polynice for the rights to Scottie Pippen. Those two players contributed immeasurably to the Bulls success. Since then, here's a rundown of the players they've drafted. After reading this, you will understand why I am very apprehensive about Mr. Rose. (No offense to him of course).

1988 - Will Perdue (11th pick) - Perdue made contributions to the Bulls championship run of 91-93, but with career stats of 4.7 points per game (PPG) and 4.9 rebounds per game (RPG), no one would say that we struck gold with this pick.

Notable players drafted after Perdue included Dan Majerle, Rod Strickland, Steve Kerr and current Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro.

1989 - Stacey King (6th) - King too made contributions to the Bulls championship run of 91-93. King was a little bit better than Perdue, however his 6.4 PPG and 3.3 RPG left much to be desired from a number 6 pick.

B.J. Armstrong (18th) - BJ was an integral part of the Bulls 91-93 run. This selection is acceptable to me. His career 9.8 PPG fit for the role in which he was asked to perform. (Plus my granny Alverta loved him, so he's cool in my book).

Jeff Sanders (20th) - With this one, you can only say "swing and a miss". Or as some of you may have said "Jeff Who"? Jeff scored a grand total of 112 points in 55 NBA games. Now for a frame of reference, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 in 1 NBA game. And that game stopped with about 45 seconds on the clock after the crowd rushed the court. Who knows, he might have been able to outscore Jeff in one game if it went to completion.

Notable players selected in this draft include Tim Hardaway (14th), Shawn Kemp (17th), Vlade Divac (26th), and Cliff Robinson (36th).

1990 - The Bulls had no first round draft pick this year. What they did with it, I really don't know. We may have traded it for a useful player, or a ham sandwich. (Hope the sandwich was great. Wish we had made the sandwich trade instead of drafting Jeff Sanders. As a matter of fact, I probably ate a sandwich in 1990 that made more of an impact in my life than Jeff Sanders made in the NBA).

1991 - Mark Randall (26th) - This was the first of the championship picks. Basically due to the
Bulls success, they were drafting at the bottom of the first round. Mark played one season, got a ring, and was on his way to journeyman status. Career 2.6 PPG and 1.3 RPG. Luckily, the only player of note selected after him was Bobby Phills.

1992 - Byron Houston (27th) - Houston never even played a minute for the Bulls. He was traded to Golden St. Maybe we got another ham sandwich in return. (Both Jerry Reinsdorf, Bulls majority owner, and Jerry Krause, Bulls then General Manager, are big boys). With his career 3.9 PPG and 3.0 RPG, sounds like we came up. P.J. Brown was taken two picks after Houston.

1993 - Corie Blount (25th) - Corie made no significant contribution to the Bulls. Career 3.6 PPG and 4.2 RPG. Nick Van Exel was picked 37th, and the player who tried to defend Michael Jordan's final shot as a Bull, Bryon Russell was drafted 45th.

1994 - Dickey Simpkens (21st) - Simpkins made minor contributions to the Bulls championship runs in 96 and 97. Career 4.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG. I'll give the Bulls a pass on this year because there were no players of note selected after him.

1995 - Jason Caffey (20th) - Caffey contributed to the Bulls runs of 96 and 97. Caffey actually represented some actual draft success, something missing for a while at this point in time. Career 7.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG. However, selected right after Caffey was Michael Finley.

1996 - Travis Knight (29th) - Knight never played for the Bulls. Not to sound racist at all, but we had enough tall white boys on the team at that point. (Bill Wennington, Luc Longley, and Joe Kleine that next season). Career 3.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG. In that very same season, future Bull and NBA defensive player of the year Ben Wallace went undrafted.

1997 - Keith Booth (28th) - Talk about timing. Keith Booth made it on to the Bulls for the final championship run. His 130 points in 45 NBA games reflects that the only other way he would've gotten a championship ring is with a gun and a ski mask. To his credit, no one else of note was selected after him.

1998 - Corey Benjamin (28th) - Well Mr. Benjamin, I have good news and bad news. Bad news, you get to play for, what was called at the time, the Baby Bulls. Good news, your 3.8 PPG contribution to the team will be completely ignored due to the departure of Michael Jordan. (You just became what we can call insult to injury). Current Magic star Rashard Lewis was taken 4 selections after you. Also selected after Benjamin was Cuttino Mobley, and undrafted was Brad Miller.

1999 - Elton Brand (1st) - The Baby Bulls record of 13-37 in the lockout shortened season was enough to secure the Bulls the number one pick. Elton Brand was a decent selection that year. He was not given the opportunity to fully blossom into the player that he has become. Instead he was traded for Tyson Chandler. Who also was traded before he had the opportunity to blossom. Many great players like Baron Davis and Manu Ginobili were drafted after Brand, but I don't hold this selection against the Bulls. Just the fact that they traded him too soon.

Ron Artest (16th) - We all know Ron from the melee in Detroit with previously mentioned Ben Wallace. But Ron started his career with the Bulls. And after two successful season with the Bulls, he made a quick exit to Indiana. At the time I wondered why they traded him. But his antics have proven that obviously someone in the Bulls front office knew he was headed for destruction.

2000 - Marcus Fizer (4th) - Fizer really did not do a whole lot for the Bulls in his four seasons there. With career stats of 9.6 PPG and 4.6 RPG, he obviously did not live up to his selection at number 4.

Chris Mihm (7th) - Technically he was drafted by the Bulls, but he was traded on draft day for Jamal Crawford who was drafted number 8. Crawford struggled to truly find a position with the Bulls. He was always stuck in between point and shooting guard. The Bulls traded him to New York where he has since discovered his talent at shooting guard.

Dalibor Bagaric (20th) - I don't ever recall actually seeing this man play for the Bulls. However checking his career statistics, I discovered he did play 95 games for the Bulls. Considering he averaged 2.6 PPG, he must have been playing long after the Bulls were losing, and I changed the channel. Now the Bulls whiffed three times in this draft. (Considering Crawford developed for another team). But what holds them down is the fact that despite Michael Redd being drafted 43rd, no other players of real note were taken in this draft.

Do you need a break? I understand. Its been hard to write about the level of mediocrity that had befallen my once proud hometown team.

2001 - Eddy Curry (4th) - Another hometown product. The Bulls expected that Curry would develop into a Shaquille O'Neal type. Well due to a heart problem, the Bulls asked Curry to take a DNA test. When Curry refused, he too was traded. Like a flight from O'Hare to JFK, Curry was New York bound. This trade however benefited the Bulls immensely. The Bulls were able to swap picks with the Knicks during two straight years. Other people drafted in 2001 included Jason Richardson (5th), Joe Johnson (10th), Richard Jefferson (13th), Tony Parker (28th), and Gilbert Arenas (31st).

2002 - Jay Williams (2nd) - This story is very tragic, and in some ways made me start to believe that the Bulls may be suffering from a "Curse of the MJ". After a promising rookie season, Jay hit a pole on his motorcycle. He suffered serious injuries, and since then has struggled to regain any of his former glory. The Bulls, in a true gesture of good will, bought out his contract for what is believed to be 3 million dollars. (By rights, the Bulls could have terminated his contract and given him nothing). Taken in that same draft were Amare Stoudamire (9th), NBA champ Tayshaun Prince (23rd), and Carlos Boozer (34th). However due to the circumstances, we can't hold this selection against the Bulls.

2003 - Kirk Hinrich (7th) - For this selection, we will again give the Bulls a pass. Hinrich was selected to replace Jay Williams. Hinrich has developed into a nice point guard, but with the selection of Derrick Rose, his time in Chicago may be coming to an end. David West (18th) and Josh Howard (29th) were also selected in the 2003 draft.

2004 - Ben Gordon (3rd) - Ben has been a spark in the revitalization of the Bulls. He won the NBA's Sixth Man Award as a rookie, and has shown himself to be a very valuable asset. Much like Hinrich, Rose's selection could signal the end of Gordon's time in Chicago.

Loul Deng (7th) - Though he was technically drafted by Phoenix, Chicago acquired Deng on draft day. Deng has developed into a strong presence at small forward. Add to that his contribution to bringing awareness to the struggles in the Sudan, and Deng has been an excellent addition to the Bulls roster. This crop of players selected by the Bulls reminds you of 1987. Hopefully it will bring the same success soon.

2005 - As a condition of getting Luol Deng, the Bulls traded their 2005 draft pick to Phoenix.

2006 - LaMarcus Aldridge (2nd) - This was the first time the Bulls swapped picks with the New York Knicks. (As a part of the earlier discussed Eddy Curry trade). The Bulls wound up trading Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas. So far, it is too early to say what the ultimate outcome of either of these deals will be.

2007 - Joakim Noah (9th) - In this year, the Bulls again swapped picks with the Knicks. (Great trade I say. Thanks Isiah Thomas, Knicks then General Manager). Noah was a driving force for his back to back NCAA champion Florida Gators. He had a nice rookie season, and the Bulls expect big things from him in the future.

With recent selections like Gordon and Deng, you hope that the Bulls have progressed past the draft selections of Mark Randall, Keith Booth and the incomparable Jeff Sanders. But as any sports fan knows, once you've been burned by your favorite team, its hard to forget all that they've done to you. Ask any Cubs fan, and they can recount to you every time in their lives that they believed the Cubs would win it that year. Only to once again have to rely on "wait til next year".

For Rose, I'm very impressed with his start. When asked what his goal was for his rookie season he answered "I want to win the MVP award". Considering that it has never been won by a rookie, I like the kid's spunk. Hell, if he plays that well, he'll blow by Jeff Sanders and Dalibor Bagaric on the Bulls all-time scoring list sometime in game three. Derrick, welcome home baby! Now let's remind them how 23 does it.

--DrizaDre--