Chicago Sports -- CURSED?!?

 The Chicago Bulls are knocked out of the playoffs as they lose Game 6 to the 76ers by a final of 79-78 on their home court. Just the 5th time in history that an 8 seed has beaten a 1 seed in the NBA playoffs.

What do you want to talk about?--- Who gets the blame...injuries...roster issues...next season???

What hoped to be a promising dream season, turned out to be brutal nightmare as the Chicago Bulls season officially ended in a hard fought game 6 a couple nights ago in Philadelphia. Many thought even with the injury to Rose, the Bulls would still be able to beat, truthfully speaking, a horrible 76ers team. The Bulls averaged 84.3 ppg during the series (96.3 during regular season), and the only time they scored over 100 points, was game 1- the only game Rose played in.

It's been a couple days now...you have had time to sleep, vent, cry, punch a wall, or write your rants about your thoughts-- are you over it by now? For many average Chicago Bulls fans, the sad heart-breaking reality will fade away as quickly as they think about the hopes of next season - my heart is not so fortunate. There are emotional fans, and then there are realistic fans, and then there is a fan who doesn't know which side to take.

I have had time to think about the lose- to take it in and see if I am truly disappointed or was it all inevitable. The season might have ended officially with a lose couple days back, but the dark truth is that it had already ended 2 weeks ago when Derrick Rose drove the lane with 1:30 left in Game 1. I don't want to sit down and analysis the last 25 seconds of Game 6- I've already done that too much. You can curse out CJ Watson and yell that even an elementary PG knows to hold the ball during last seconds of a game; you can pop a free-throw on the court and yell, "THAT'S ALL WE WANTED ASIK, JUST ONE!", and most of you probably even hope that Carlos Boozer trips over his work-out bag again, so that Taj Gibson can be our starting power-forward.Others are even mad that Luol Deng won't undergo surgery, and will play for Great Britain in the upcoming Olympics, and what exactly did Rip Hamilton do to solve the shooting guard problem.

As many of the beat-reporters and NBA analysts will tell you -and I agree- the Bulls were put together to win a championship THIS YEAR. Ending the last season with a lose to the Miami Heat, the Bulls had to address one main issue- a consistent secondary scorer to help spread the floor for Rose. When the Bulls signed Hamilton, he was our answer. A veteran, a shooter, a previous champion. The Bulls worked harder in practice that any other team this season. Coach Thibs was clear that the only goal that mattered was being the last team standing. Coach of the year, MVP, Best-record -- None of those mattered. But now, after a season where the injury bug felt more like a infestation, there are more questions than answers. The window for the Chicago Bulls hasn't closed but there are a lot off-season issues that Gar Forman and John Paxson need to address.

Photo Credit: Facebook - Eric Collins

Unlike other fans who will soon forget about this season and look upon the next, at this very moment, my mind can't stop thinking about how injuries have absolutely demolished the hopes of millions of Chicago sports fans. I am sorry to bring up these suppressed memories by many of you, but it just doesn't stop...

It all started with the NFC Conference championship vs. the GB Packers about a year and a half ago, when Jay Cutler hurt his knee- needless to say we lost and the Packers went on to win the Super-Bowl. This past season, during an incredible winning streak when the Bears were as good as any team in the league, Jay Cutler hurt his hand. Then came the injuries to Forte, Knox, and even Urlacher.

It's absolutely disgusting how parallel the Chicago Bulls and Bears seasons have matched up. In both teams-- the most important player had season ending injury (Rose and Cutler). Both in which the back-ups at their respective position could not fill their spots. The next game, the 2nd most valuable player to the team goes down (Noah and Forte). -- Lets stop there...

Enough...Lets move forward.

Yes, it was difficult to lose and have our season ended, but the future is bright. In both the Bears and the Bulls, the lose of their star players has helped expose some major issues within the team. If these are fixed than who knows where the next season will take us ---- assuming we have no devastating injuries. The questions are many and the answers are unknown, but both teams are still a powerful contender. The Bears have already addressed some D-Line and WR issues, and many are predicting at least a 10-win season. Once you get into the playoffs anything can happen (think Chicago Bulls- or in a positive light think Sixers if you're a Philly fan).

We will have to wait and see how the Chicago Bulls off-season goes...but I'm optimistic. I think that Rose will get back to MVP level after a good 10-month recovery period. I think that the Bulls will make the playoffs again, and I think that we will ALL get to see the Bulls-Heat match-up that has been hyped up for so long. AND I think that the Bulls will hold the Larry O'Brien Trophy very soon -- Just trying to be positive...

MESSAGE: To the all the people who think it is going to be a long season-- You're probably right considering that fact that Chicago Baseball isn't up to excitement levels of a Bulls or Bears game, but the Summer will be over sooner than you think. This summer is going to be packed with the Olympics and that means that all of the world will be enchanted by all its glory. Then again, it is the summertime and you will get to enjoy the nice weather and warm summer nights and before you know it-- the leaves will turn. It there had to be a LONG OFF-SEASON then summer would probably be the best off-season.

Have a great day!
DISCLAIMER: Sorry for the very-strangely-choppy writing. I am doing this at work so.. yeah. Low on stats more just babbling. My Apologies.