Bartender Banter: Ready for Hoops!......I guess

Well the NBA season kicked off in grand fashion last night, as the new and improved Chicago Bulls bitch-slapped the defending champion Miami Heat. The Heat had a big banner-raising ceremony before the game and all the fans wore their trademark white shirts and celebrated Miami's championship from last season. The sea of white quickly grew calm though, as the Bulls were all business from start to finish. Kirk Hinrich and his fat new 5-year contract, led the team with 26 points. We also got nice glimpses at rookies Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha. Plus there's newly acquired big man Ben Wallace, who'll more than fill the void left by Tyson Chandler. I have to say it's an exciting time to be a Bulls fan. So much so that I may actually pay attention to them for the first time in years. A few notes:

• The white shirt gimmick that Miami has, is quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever seen in sports. Purposely wearing the same color is cool in say, college sports, when the students do it, and jump around like raving lunatics. But in Miami? Christ, I've seen more life in a crowd at an Andy Williams concert. Maybe they should have them all wear red shirts, so they can blend into all the empty seats during midseason games.
• If this whole Thunder Matt thing ever falls through, I may consider switching the site to Thunder Thabo's. (Note: that probably will never happen, unless Murton would end up with the Astros or White Sox. Then I would just claim that Thunder Matt was in reference to former Bears running back Matt Suhey.)
• If they ever make a movie about Kirk Hinrich can they get Charlie Korsmo to play him?
  

Who knows if I really will follow the Bulls or not. I really don't hold allegiance to any NBA team, and most of my knowledge comes from Sportscenter highlights and playing fantasy basketball. Hell this may be the only NBA post I do. As for the other TMS bartenders, Chaim knows only the Bulls, and has no idea who the other teams are. He also believes Kurt Warner plays small forward for Chicago. The Governor follows the Utah Jazz and even after 8 years, is still smarting from this. Brant is excited about the resurgent Bulls and looks forward to buying a new hat to go along with his Clippers one.

Major Props from SportsBlogging.net
TMS was the "Sports Blog of the Week" over at SportsBlogging.net. The site's author, Dave, wrote some pretty kind words about our little blog, and we really appreciate it. It's nice to see that our work is being read and enjoyed by others, even though sometimes I feel like 50% of what I write is pulled straight out of my ass. Dave has put together a great site that has featured dozens of good sports blogs out there. I recommend other blogs out there give a link to SportsBlogging.net and help more readers discover this site.

Let the Offseason Transaction Madness Begin
This week a number of players filed for free agency, which means it's once again time for me to pull my hair out (if I had any) over what guys the Cubs are and are not considering. Right now I'm reading things saying they are interested in making a deal for Gary Sheffield. Please God no. Sheffield is disgruntled that the Yankees didn't let him become a free agent, and if he does get traded he's said he'll want to discuss contract extension right away. Great, so why would we commit to an almost 38-year old outfielder that has battled injuries in recent years to a multiple-year contract for a healthy chunk of change? I just think there's better options out there. Or maybe I'm still wary of any move that could hinder Thunder Matt's playing time next season.