bukie

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.

Everything you wanted to know about the playoffs (and some stuff you probably didn't care about): Tiebreaker scenarios - Records vs. potentially tied teams: Bulls: 3-1 vs. WAS, 2-2 vs. IND, 2-2 vs. MIL, 2-2 vs. PHI, 2-1 vs. ORL (1 remaining) Wizards: 2-2 vs. IND, 0-2 vs. MIL (1 remaining), 1-3 vs. CHI, 2-2 vs. PHI Pacers: 2-2 vs. WAS, 2-2 vs. MIL, 2-2 vs. CHI, 2-1 vs. PHI Bucks: 2-0 vs. WAS (1 remaining), 2-2 vs. IND, 2-2 vs. CHI, 3-1 vs. PHI 76ers: 2-2 vs. WAS, 1-2 vs. IND, 1-3 vs. MIL, 2-2 vs. CHI, 1-2 vs. ORL (1 remaining) Magic: 1-2 vs. CHI (1 remaining), 2-1 vs. PHI (1 remaining) Weirdest scenario: The Bulls win the tiebreaker vs. either Philly or Orlando, but if there's a 3-way tie for the 8-seed, Orlando wins the tiebreaker (overall head-to-head) and the Bulls would be left out. If there is a 5-way tie for the 5-seed, the seeding would work out as: - IF Milwaukee beats Washington... 5. Milwaukee 6. Chicago 7. Indiana 8. Philadelphia 9. Washington - IF Washington beats Milwaukee... 5. Milwaukee 6. Chicago 7. Indiana 8. Washington (better conference record than Philly) 9. Philadelphia If the Bulls tie just a single team, they win the tiebreakers vs. Washington (head-to-head), Philadelphia (conference record), and Orlando (conference record). They lose to Milwaukee (division record), and Indiana (division record). However, the Bulls beat Indiana in tiebreakers involving other teams from outside their division (Washington, Philly), due to a better conference record. Confused yet? :)

Z looked like -. Judging by his body loanguage I'd say he backed out a long time ago. 1. Family site, please consider the language. 2. Z gave up 4 hits. If that's looking worthless, then more Cub pitchers need to look worthless.

The Reds have 3 hits. It's not like they're pounding Z with reckless abandon. They are just making the most of every opportunity.

But Pagan already has a hit... :)

Have you seen the lineup? Yes, this lineup is going to struggle enough to score without giving away outs for free with the leading hitter on the team.

All of a sudden, Washington is coming back to the pack as well. The Washington game is really important Friday, because I believe if the Bulls win that game, they win any tiebreaker situation among those 5 teams. The Sixers lose all tiebreakers. Edit: My mistake, Milwaukee wins all tiebreakers. Bulls are second if they win.

I was actually wondering if I should wait on that bonus pick until near the end...nobody else had thought of it before then :)

I'd be more inclined to argue that Pedro Martinez might be the best pitcher ever. At least at his peak. However, it's yet to be known how long he'll hold up.

8 seed and a sweep by Detroit, mid-first round pick along with a top 3 pick.

Maybe it's just the homer in me, but Illinois and North Carolina last year would be able to wipe the floor with any of the teams this year. No team is close to the level that those two were at last year.