bukie

Meanwhile...1-0 Ecuador early in the second half.

Yep, basically. If Brazil wins their group and the US finishes second in theirs, they will play. Of course, if the US wins their group and Brazil finishes second in theirs, they'll still play each other. So most realistic hope for the US is to get to a game vs Brazil and not get embarrassed? That would definitely be considered a successful run this year. Finishing ahead of Italy or the Czech Republic would be a surprise to many in Europe.

Yep, basically. If Brazil wins their group and the US finishes second in theirs, they will play. Of course, if the US wins their group and Brazil finishes second in theirs, they'll still play each other.

ESPN World Cup Pick-em group created: http://games.espn.go.com/worldcup/frontpage Group name: NSBB Password: obp300 Just involves picking the outcome of each game.

Yankees of the World Cup: Brazil Cubs of the World Cup: USA White Sox of the World Cup: Mexico

Portugal 2002? 2002 was played in South Korea, not Europe. The US has traditionally been awful in European World Cup finals.

Just FYI, those semi matchups would be reversed (Netherlands/England and Brazil/USA), not that it makes a whole lot of difference.

I do think for sure that whoever does win the USA v CZE match will win group E. I just don't think the US has it in them to do that first match in a European final.

Well, here's what I'm thinking right now: Group A: 1. Germany 2. Poland Group B: 1. England 2. Paraguay Group C: 1. Argentina 2. Ivory Coast Group D: 1. Portugal 2. Mexico Group E: 1. Czech Republic 2. Italy Group F: 1. Brazil 2. Japan Group G: 1. France 2. South Korea Group H: 1. Spain 2. Tunisia I think the groups are horrendously balanced this time around, though. 3-4 good teams in groups C and E, and I honestly think just about any squad from those 2 groups would win group A or D. England, Germany, Spain, and France seem too well protected not to reach the second round this time around.

So...any predictions? Or are we waiting until it starts to predict anything?

So, honest question, who's had a worse day, the Cubs or Bears?

So let me get this straight. The Bears get a lot of talent to slide down to their #1 pick, so they trade down to get the 11th DB in the draft...

Who?

Only 3 weeks into the season, and already 6.5 games out... ...of 5th place.

So, the game is being called closely, Shaq is actually getting called for travels and fouls, Haslem is ejected, pretty much negating the Heat's frontline advantage after Shaq, and the Bulls are down 12. Amazing how much that double technical killed the Bulls' momentum, though.

6 seed is now out of play thanks to Indiana's win. Either 5 or 7 is still available, pending the Washington-Detroit game, and Washington seems to be pulling away.

Washington pulled it out last night, which simplifies the scenarios a bit. No spots were clinched, but it's now a guarantee that Washington will finish higher than Milwaukee. - If Washington wins, they are the 5 seed. - If the Bulls lose, they are the 8 seed. - If Washington loses, the Bulls cannot get the 6 seed that everyone seems to covet. The Bulls would get the 5 seed if they won. - The only way the Bulls get the 6 seed is if they win, Washington wins at Detroit, and Indiana loses at home to Orlando. - If Washington, Indiana, and the Bulls all win, the Bulls finish with the 7 seed.

Here, I'll play out every scenario, since the Bulls game will be the last to happen, and only 3 other games matter: Scenario 1 (Best case scenario if you like the Nets): - Milwaukee beats Washington (Milwaukee is 5 seed) - Indiana loses to Orlando - Washington loses to Detroit (Washington is 8 seed, Indiana is 7 seed) - Bulls: Locked into 6 seed, their game is meaningless (win ties them with Milwaukee, where they lose tiebreaker, loss ties them with Indiana/Washington, where they win 3-way tiebreaker) Scenario 2 (Best case scenario if for some reason you like the Heat): - Milwaukee beats Washington (Milwaukee is 5 seed) - Indiana beats Orlando - Washington loses to Detroit (Washington is 8 seed, Indiana is 6 seed) - Bulls: Locked into 7 seed, their game is meaningless (win ties them with Milwaukee and Indiana, and they finish last in that 3-way, loss ties them with Washington, where they win tiebreaker) Scenario 3: - Milwaukee beats Washington (Milwaukee is 5 seed) - Washington beats Detroit (6 seed if Indiana and Bulls lose, 7 if one of them loses, 8 if both win) - Indiana game is meaningless (well, not to them, to the Bulls...win and they are 6 seed if Bulls lose, 7 if they win) lose and they are 7 seed no matter what) - Bulls: Win nets them the 6 seed, finishing second in the 3- (or 4-)way tie with Milwaukee and Washington (and/or Indiana). Loss nets them the 8 seed, as they lose the tiebreaker with Indiana, or finishes behind Indiana. Scenario 4 ("best" case scenario...only case Bulls can get a 5 seed): - Washington beats Milwaukee (Milwaukee is 6 seed if Pacers and Bulls lose, 7 if one of them loses, 8 if both win) - Washington loses to Detroit (Washington is 5 seed if Pacers and Bulls lose, 6 if one of them loses, 7 if both win) - Indiana game is meaningless (again, to the Bulls outcome, not theirs...win and they get 5 seed if Bulls lose, 6 if the Bulls win; lose and they get 8 seed if Bulls win, 7 if they lose) - Bulls: Win nets them the 5 seed, winning tiebreaker vs. Washington (and/or Indiana). Loss nets them the 8 seed, losing 3-way tie with Indiana and Milwaukee (or just tie with Milwaukee). Scenario 5: - Washington beats Milwaukee - Washington beats Detroit (Washington is 5 seed) - Indiana loses to Orlando (Milwaukee->Indiana are 6-7 if Bulls lose, 7-8 if Bulls win) - Bulls: Win and they are the 6 seed (and the only team to finish 41-41), lose and they are the 8 seed, losing the 3-way tiebreaker with Indiana and Milwaukee Scenario 6 (worst case scenario): - Washington beats Milwaukee - Washington beats Detroit (Washington is 5 seed) - Indiana beats Orlando (Indiana is 6 seed) - Bulls: Win and they are the 7 seed, lose and they are the 8 seed, losing the tiebreaker with Milwaukee. Hope that all makes sense now.

I believe the Bulls win the tiebreak with Washington, so a 4-way finish would be seeded: 5. Milwaukee 6. Indiana 7. Bulls 8. Washington With the Bucks and Wizards playing each other tomorrow, I believe the Bulls can clinch the 7th spot with a home win Wednesday against the Raptors. Actually, in the case of a 4-way tie, the Bulls get the 6 seed, since the first tiebreaker is overall head-to-head: 5. Milwaukee (3-0 vs. WAS, 2-2 vs. CHI and IND) 6. Chicago (3-1 vs. WAS, 2-2 vs. MIL and IND) 7. Indiana (2-2 vs. WAS, MIL and CHI) 8. Washington (0-3 vs. MIL, 1-3 vs. CHI, 2-2 vs. IND) It's a weird scenario...the Bulls lose to Indiana in a 2-way tie, or a tie involving just teams from the division, but they beat Indiana in a tie involving Washington. If Milwaukee wins tonight, they lock into the 5 seed, despite what other pundits may think...(it's not a 4-way tie yet since Milwaukee would be 41-41, and they win all the tiebreakers) Then, if the Bulls beat Toronto, they do no worse than the 7 seed, and if Indiana loses, they are the 6 seed no matter what Washington does.

I can't help having a bad feeling about tonight's game. Back-to-back, just clinched a playoff spot so the edge could be off, and Orlando is going to be treating their last 2 games like the playoffs. Got a feeling the Bulls are going to be blown out tonight.

And just like that, all playoffs teams have clinched, as Sacramento and Washington won to complete the field. With 2 games left, the Bulls are in the 8 position due to tiebreakers. Any game they gain on Indiana, Milwaukee, or Washington over the last 2 games will let the Bulls jump that team. If the Bulls win out, they are guaranteed at least the 7 seed, as Milwaukee and Washington play each other. However, if the Bulls go 1-1, they can do no better than the 6 seed for the same reason. 0-2, and the Bulls are automatically the 8 seed at 39-43. Which is better than anyone could've imagined 3 weeks ago. Orlando tomorrow, either a really ticked off Orlando team, or a deflated Orlando team. This could be their playoffs tomorrow and Wednesday (they play Indiana). Another interesting scheduling quirk is that the Bulls and Pacers both finish with Orlando and Toronto (in opposite order), and that Milwaukee and Washington play each other and Detroit. In my opinion, the Bulls match up best against NJ, then Cleveland, then Miami, then Detroit. However, I don't think they win a series against any of them. They can take NJ or Cleveland to 7, Miami to 5, and they could luck out and steal a home game from Detroit to avoid embarrassment. So...go higher seed!

Sure, it probably should've been a no-call, which would've run the clock out, since the Bulls got possession.

Very true, Washington has by far the toughest closing schedule. They could lose out on the playoffs altogether, which would be sad. Of course, that requires Philly to play well. The Bulls couldn't have caught Miami at Miami at a better time, now that they have absolutely nothing to play for and several of their key players could use a rest. Yet to be seen whether the Bulls can beat them, though. Remember, they haven't been able to beat the Heat at all the past couple years, with or without Shaq.

Technically true...but the Bulls lose tiebreakers vs. Milwaukee and Indiana. So, they need Washington really to falter before they get a decent shot at the 6 seed.

Orlando is not officially eliminated yet either, so if Philly loses another game, that won't clinch it officially I don't think. another game of interest going on right now, Indiana is tied with Charlotte in OT. Please win Charlotte Orlando is only in in the case of a 3-way tie for the 8 spot between Chicago, Philly, and Orlando. If Philly loses again, there's no way that can happen. Edit: Actually, I'm wrong. The Bulls just need to win. Orlando is in if Philly goes 1-1, Orlando wins their last 2, and the Bulls lose out. Also, Milwaukee and Indiana are in with Philly's loss tonight, despite both teams losing to Charlotte and Atlanta, respectively. Wonder if they started celebrating a bit early. Those losses might just earn them first round series' with Miami or Detroit.