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After about a 5-6 month hiatus I am back in full swing with my sports blog. A few notes:

1. I had an internship this past summer that took a lot of energy out of me. This caused me to become lazy and explains why my last post is the Cubs being in first place... lets just say that given how the season ended there was no need for any further posts

2. I'm done reporting for the Cubs and Bears, quick recap: Cubs don't make playoffs, trade Bradley for Silva, sign Marlon Byrd to a 3 year $15 million deal to play center field, Cutler throws 27 pics, bears go 7-9, Lovie Smith is retained.

3. I never wrote about the Black Hawks or White Sox, but hey the Black Haws are pretty good!

4. This will now be exclusively a Chicago Bulls blog- that is where my heart is, this focus will allow me to stay devoted

Bulls Season so far:

- Start hot with victories over San Antontio and Cleveland: hey, maybe the Rose/Deng/Salmons trio will work

- Tyrus Thomas injured

- Noah emerges as a double doubly guy with multiple ferocious rebounding games

- Kirk Hinrich injured- thumb

- Bulls blown out multiple games in a row, starting to look ugly with a thinned out bench, Salmons struggling immensely and Rose still not 100% from preseason ankle problems

- Hinrich back, Gibson playing well, but Bulls can't buy a break, Salmons benched

- Vinny Del Negro's jobs questioned, Chris Broussard of ESPN reports eventual firing

- Rose starts playing like an all star, Salmons starts hitting, Thomas comes back to give lift, 4 game win steak to go from 10-17 to 14-17 and maybe save their coaches job

- Thomas seems like he's not trying, 3 game losing streak (14-20)

- T-Wolves come to town (15-20)

Bosh rumors: Bosh has said that the Bulls are his top choice in this upcoming free agent explosion off-season. The Raptors would rather trade him to get something for him, the Bulls may be willing to make a trade in order to compete this year thinking he will re-sign. The Heat and Knicks are also interested to try to improve their Lebron/Wade sweepstakes, and the Rockets also have some interest and probably the best young talent to attract Toronto.

Bulls rumors: Noah and Miller + draft pick, or Hinrich and Thomas + draft pick

Noah: So valuable, playing like an all star and perfect complement to a scoring big man

Miller: Contract that would be nice to get rid of, but veteran

Hinrich: Valuable shooter and bench player; however, how much longer can a run of the mill three point shooter be valued so highly

Thomas: Sparks of greatness with rebounding and athletic shot-blocking, but often seems apathetic

My thoughts: Noah is a piece the Bulls simply can't lose. If we trade him and Miller this is our lineup:

PG- Rose

SG- Hinrich

Sf- Deng

PF- Gibson

C- Bosh

Bench: Salmons & Thomas

If we trade Thomas and Hinrich:

PG- Rose

SG- Salmons

SF- Deng

PF- Bosh

C- Noah

Bench: Miller, Gibson

To me the second option is much better. What we lose from Tyrus doesn't hurt so bad given Gibson's great rookie start and James Johnson's potential. With Salmons starting to shoot better, losing Hinrich means less. A team led by Rose and Bosh, with Salmons and Deng as two scoring options, defense and rebounding from Gibson and Noah, along with veteran play from Miller would be pretty formidable. What do you think?

Final thought: Let Vinny finish the season. Vinny came in with momentum and although this season has been frustrating how can you blame the coach for: Thomas' injury, Hinrich's injury, Salmons brick parade, losing Ben Gordon, and Rose's slow start. In a weak East with no real chance of competing with CLE/BOS/ORL/ATL, lets see how the Bulls finish with or without Bosh. Their playing for next year, but if we can get Bosh now we can do some damage now and start gelling for a championship push in the next few years.