Rose, Gasol Return as Bulls Prevail at Utah

November 25, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

Random thoughts while wondering why I spent so much time on social media and watching television coverage Monday night of the grand jury in St. Louis and so little watching the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz:

Video below of Valeria Ammirato.

* The Bulls blew a 21-point, second-quarter lead but rallied in the final minute to prevail 97-95 Monday night in Salt Lake City. Jimmy Butler had 25 points and Pau Gasol 23 for the Bulls. Derrick Rose had 18 points. Mike Dunleavy had two points — on a rebound basket of a Butler miss — that gave the Bulls a 96-95 lead. At least I turned away from the scene in St. Louis to catch the final couple minutes of the game. Sports does offer an escape, even if it is temporary.

* Speaking of the Bulls, they play Tuesday night at Denver. Meaning Gasol and Rose will be tested severely. Not by the Nuggets as much as by their physical condition. Both returned to the lineup from injury, but there’s no guarantee regarding their status for the second game of a back-to-back. Oh, and Bulls center Joakim Noah was poked in the eye vs. the Jazz. Meaning in addition to leading the NBA in road victories (7-2 record away from Chicago), they also seem to lead in injured players.

* Still speaking of the Bulls, is there really a good reason teams should have to play on consecutive nights? Such schedules are not in the long-term interest of players. Then again, are the players even a consideration when it comes to putting together the schedule?

* Speaking of quick turnarounds, it’s a short week of preparation for the Bears and Lions, who play Thursday in Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving game in Motown. You think that’s rough? How about the folks who had to work Monday night’s New York Jets-Buffalo Bills at Ford Field (moved there because of all the snow in Buffalo) and also will be back at their jobs there Thursday?

* Still speaking of short turnarounds, would it be all the difficult for the NFL to give its Thanksgiving Day combatants the Sunday before off as a bye week? Same goes for any other Thursday night participants.

* It’s uncertain whether the additions of third baseman Pablo Sandoval and shortstop Hanley Ramirez make the Boston Red Sox heavy favorites for 2015 in the American League East. Signing Sandoval does give the Red Sox a big addition to the offensive line of the team’s flag football team (and if it doesn’t have one, it might want to thinking about forming one).

***

Here is where to go for a daily dose of non-gratuitous video (thanks to the engrossing efforts of the editorial and video departments at ElliottHarris.com):