Top Ten Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas

Like me, you are probably scrambling to secure a sweet outfit for Halloween at the last minute. Like me, you also enjoy sports quite a bit and wouldn't mind going as an athlete or sports personality. Here are some last minute ideas for male costumes. For female costumes just simply be a skanky (insert anything here) and have at it.


10. Ed Hochuli

The infamous NFL ref is perfect if you can secure a referee shirt and a whistle. When you are at your destination, simply blow your whistle when nothing is happening to disrupt everyone from what they are doing. It would also benefit you to work on those biceps before you go out because Hochuli is jacked.

9. Dennis Rodman

If you have dyed hair, tattoos and a pierced genitalia then you are already halfway there. Now just simply wear women's clothes, leather or just go naked and you are all set.

8. Charlie Weis

Get a crew cut, some kind of Notre Dame shirt (someone you know has one), khaki pants, some pillows for added fat and some crutches. Now hike the khaki pants to your nipples and you're all set. As a bonus, grab a laminated sheet of paper (plays) and a headset for added effect.

7. UFC Fighter

Just wear some goofy looking surfing type shorts, an Affliction shirt and look and act like a meat head and you are all set. Bonus points for vaseline to difuse the punches you are about to take.

6. WNBA Player on Draft Night

You walk awkwardly in heels and so do they, perfect match. Now just wear a business type suit that is tight if at all possible and wear some lipstick and a WNBA hat and you are all set. Also, get a whig if possible to make it even better.

5. Adam Morrison


Grow a ratty looking mustache, don't wash your hair and chain smoke and dip all night (he reportedly does both even though he's a diabetic). Also in the middle of the party after something doesn't go your way (lose in beer pong, get shot down by a girl, etc.) go to the floor and start crying your eyes out.

4. Kyle Orton (Pre-2008)

Have a really weird looking beard (neck beard preferred), long hair and a constant supply of Jack Daniels bottles and look ridiculously goofy and or drunk in every photo taken.

3. Michael Phelps

Secure a swim cap, goggles and some kind of scuba outfit just to make it amusing. Then try to get gold medals or a Rosetta Stone Mandarin Edition learning guide and you are good as gold (sorry that lame joke had to be made.

2. Pacman Jones/Michael Vick

Rock an orange prison outfit with the jersey of the player you choose over it. Follow that by having a stack of money (dog fighting and strip clubs mean lots of cash) and have other supplies like dog collars or guns for added effect.

1. John Daly


Golf shirt, pillows for fat, miller lite, marlboro lites and hooters napkins for added effect. If you want bonus points then get a blonde mullet for 1980's John Daly.

There you have it folks, so easy last minute shopping for those without a costume.

Top Ten Chicago Athletes Who Belong on Reality TV

It seems like anyone can get a reality television show these days.

So it's only natural that a Chicago athlete would eventually make their way onto the scene. We have some of the craziest and most unique individuals in sports to choose from.

Here are the Top Ten we'd like to see.

10. Ronnie Woo Woo

I picture this show as something along the lines of 'The Flavor of Love'.

Get a room full of over served female bleacher bums together in a mansion and let them duke it out for the rights to Woo Woos'heart

9. Bears Offensive Line

A collection of massive human beings downing Jack Daniels and shooting guns with the FBI is definitely something I might be interested in.

8. Lou Pinella

'Getting Old with Lou Pinella' is actually more of an educational program for senior citizens than it is reality television.

Nursing homes nationwide tune in as Lou teaches how to play dumb when asked confusing questions and later on, will cover how to stare off in the distance like you have no idea what's going on.

7. Devin Hester

A take on Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie's show the 'Simple Life', Devin has to travel the country working as a molecular biologist, NASA engineer, balistics expert and more.

Soon after, Devin's trademark phrase from the show, "Huh?" gets added to Webster's Dictionary along side "Doh!".

6. Derrick Rose

Simply put, the TTCS crew worships Derrick Rose and would most likely watch him cut his lawn if it was on TV.

The next ten years are going to be sweet.

5. Juan Uribe

Uribe looks like he moonlights as a mob boss during the offseason at his home in the Dominican Republic.

The cameras would follow Juan around as he takes batting practice by day and breaks peoples legs by night. He's a whole different kind of crazy.

4. Patrick Kane

This one's more for the teenagers, but picture a Chicago version of the Hills.

Kane struggles to convince his parents that he's mature enough to stay out past ten and throws a tantrum when they won't let him get that new Gucci belt.

Parents just don't understand.

3. Ozzie Guillen

There's really no comparison to what this show would be like and it'd most likely have to be on HBO or Showtime.

Hilarity ensues when Ozzie downs a bottle of Patron and rips on Brian Anderson for an entire episode.

2. Ron Santo

Seeing Santo cry himself to sleep after every Cubs loss would be enough to make me watch.

1. Michael Jordan

Hope you don't mind, but I'm going to use a description of Jordan from our legendary "Top Ten Chicago Athletes We'd Like to Party With" list.

The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

Perhaps nobody outside of Charles Barkley and Charles Oakley truly knows how M. Jeff does it when out for a night on the town. But whispers of Jordan dropping tens of thousands of dollars in Atlantic City and rampant claims of his infidelities have only helped to define his legend.

Wouldn't you want to watch that?

Editor's note: If you would like some insight into what a night is like with Jordan, I suggest you watch this video narrated by Adult Film “Superstar” Kylie Ireland.

Top ten Chicago athletes who could make it in UFC

Truth be told, 1990's WWF is more our game than UFC. Still, with UFC making its Chicago debut last weekend, we were left thinking about Chicago athletes who could have been successful in mixed martial arts.

10. Alexei Ramirez

Fighter comparison: Anderson Silva

We know one thing: Alexei would have no problem cutting weight. And at 6-3, he'd probably be a lot taller than all the other skinny dudes he'd be fighting. Reach, brah. Also, and I'm not sure why I believe this, but I'm almost positive Alexei could throw killer knees and elbows.

9. Mac Koshwal

Fighter comparison: Cheick Kongo

He's 6-9, 235 and runs the floor like someone half his size. Also: no one knows who he is. That's a recipe for a fighter if I've ever heard one.

8. Ron Zook

Fighter comparison: Randy Couture

Ron Zook pisses intensity. That much is true. We're just unsure if the Zooker could ever dedicate himself to anything more than texting 16-year old boys. And we mean that as sort of a complement, I guess.

7. Nick Swisher

Fighter comparison: Keith Jardine

Swish's greatest asset could be his versatility, which would serve him well in MMA. He certainly already has the look of an MMA fighter.

6. Dusty Dvoracek

Fighter comparison: Andrei Arlovski

UFC fighters aren't always the strongest guys in the world, or the most athletic. But they are usually the craziest. Dvoracek has a history of anger problems. He was also a recovering alcoholic before turning 21. He should fit right in.

5. Joakim Noah

Fighter comparison: Paulo Cesar de Silva

We just hope Noah's post-fight celebration would be the same dance he uses to fire up the Bulls before the start of each game.

4. Carlos Quentin

Fighter comparison: BJ Penn

Being a UFC fighter requires great discipline. Quentin's .394 on-base percentage should suffice.

3. Adam Burish

Fighter comparison: Forest Griffin

Really, I was just torn on who would make the better UFC fighter: Burish or Pat Kane. Slight, slight edge to Burish.

2. Brian Urlacher

Fighter comparison: Brock Lesnar

Urlacher and Lesnar actually have a lot in common. Both come from small towns, are soft spoken, have rad tattoos, and moonlight as freak athletes. But only one is married to Sable. Advantage: Lesnar.

1. Carlos Zambrano

Fighter comparison: Chuck Liddell

Power, anger, agression, craziness. Z is everything you want in a top notch MMA fighter. Let's just hope Lou Piniella isn't managing him as a figher, or Z may not enter the octagon until the second round of a fight.

Top Ten Cubs off-season steps/moves

BY DUBS

The 2008 Cubs were probably the best team in the NL. Unfortunately, that did not translate in the postseason for the second straight year. The good news for the Cubs is that they do not need to do all that much to be a 90+-win team in 2009. However, there are some major issues that need to be addressed, as some of their top pitchers have become free agents. Also, the free agent market is full of players who can make an instant impact.

Unfortunately, the Cubs are already committed to something like 130MM after arbitration (2007 payroll ended up a little under 130MM by seasons end). This means they will probably have to dump a salary or two via trade to be able to sign their very valuable pitching free agents and a lefty bat. The Cubs have talked about increasing their payroll, but by how much (140MM or maybe 150MM)? Here are some steps the Cubs could possibly make and their potential roster for next year*.

10. Re-sign Dempster
This will be the Cubs #1 off-season priority. Dempster was the Cubs rock in the rotation and led the Cubs with a VORP of 57.5, while boasting a 17-6 record with a 2.96 ERA. To put it in perspective, the closest Cubs pitcher to Dempster’s value was Carlos Zambrano with a VORP of 35.7. Turning 32, this will probably be Dempster’s last contract and he will want something in the range of four years and 14MM per. If the Cubs don’t move pieces they will have to choose between him and Kerry Wood, without adding a lefty bat the Cubs front office has been talking about.

9. Re-sign Kerry Wood
Wood is secondary to Dempster, but signing him is extremely important because of the depth he adds to the pen. Sure, Carlos Marmol may be ready to close and is probably the more dominant pitcher, but without Wood the Cubs bullpen becomes very ordinary. Like Dempster, Wood, who is also turning 32, is looking at his final big contract and will ask for something around 3 years and 10MM per. Hopefully, Wood, as a “Chicago-guy”, will give Jim Hendry a hometown deal for less.

8. Minor details
The Cubs should either implement their 3MM team option for Henry Blanco or try to negotiate a contract for less. I hope they do the ladder, because every dollar will be important. They also need not worry with arbitration contracts, as nobody will be making a Ryan Howard-esk 10MM dollar case. They also need to re-evaluate Rich Hill and have a pretty good idea where he is at and what they can do with him (trade bait?) by spring training (he is currently pitching in Venezuela). Also, move Kosuke Fukudome to CF NOW. Even if he hits as poorly as he did this year, it is easier to forgive those numbers as a platoon centerfielder with Reed Johnson.

7. Trade Jason Marquis
Marquis is set to make 9.875MM in 2009 and seems to be very expendable with Sean Marshal showing that he is ready to become a full-time starting pitcher. Marshal's VORP was only about seven points less than Marquis in about 100 less innings, (VORP correlate positively with amount of innings you pitch, unless you suck) which exemplifies how expendable Marquis is. Add to the fact that Hill could be back to 2007 form and Marquis becomes a luxury. This trade would be pretty much a straight salary dump to free up some cash to re-sign Dempster and Wood and possible allow for a lefty bat.

6. Trade Derrek Lee
Trading both Lee and Marquis would guarantee enough money to add a lefty bat and re-sign both Wood and Dempster. There has been rumors about Lee going to SF for a young arm, which would be peachy, but again I would gladly take the money (13MM through 2010). Before I go further, I know what you are saying, “But it’s Derrek Lee.” I know, I know. But Lee is on the natural downside of his career. Since his career year in 2005 (minus 2006 when he got hurt), Lee’s OPS+ has dropped from 174 to 131 in 2007 to 110 this year. It’s nothing against the 32-year-old, it’s just that he is getting old and becoming average. The Cubs have an easy replacement in Mark DeRosa (21 HR, 118 OPS+) and Micah Hoffpauir.

5. Sign Rafael Furcal
This would kind of be a ballsy move by Hendry, but SS is probably the one position that the Cubs could upgrade the most in. Ryan Theriot was very solid this year and got on base at a solid .387 clip, but he is a below average fielder, doesn’t steal bases at an efficient enough rate or hit enough extra bases to declare him an indispensable everyday player (93 OPS+). I do not think the Cubs will go this way because Furcal will be VERY expensive, but he would fill the leadoff hitter need, has good speed, above average fielding ability and steals bases extremely efficiently. This would also make Theriot and Ronny Cedeno movable, while adding depth to the bench.

4. Sign Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn or trade for Brian Giles
This is probably the route the Cubs will go. This is an easy move for Hendry if he is able to dump one of the larger contracts above (if the payroll is 150MM) and a definite move if they dump both.

Abreu’s career slash stats are .300/.405/.498. He is getting old but has shown no signs of slowing offensively. However, his defense is below average and the Cubs may hesitate to go after him if they have concerns with him playing a very tough Wrigley Field right field. He should be asking around 10MM per for maybe two years.

Dunn, on the other hand, is younger and provides more pop, equal OBP and probably a little worse right field. He would require a much larger and longer commitment, making him a tough sign even if the contract is back loaded – something around 14MM per for four years.

Giles is an upgrade defensively, but would be a downgrade offensively compared to Abreu or Dunn. He would be cheaper at 9MM and only a one-year commitment. However, this would require Giles to drop his no-trade clause in his contract.

Personally, I don’t like Raul Ibanez or Mark Kotsay for this position because they are aging and showing it. Also a young Jeremy Hermida might be a possibility.

3. Trust your system
The Cubs have depth on their bench. Mike Fontenot showed why he was drafted in the first round (131 OPS+), while Micah Hoffpauir has put up these numbers: .340 AVG, 41 HR and 173 RBI in 153 games the last two years in Iowa. The thing that worries me about Hoffpauir is his high strikeout verse low walk rate. Furthermore, DeRosa’s flexibility gives the bench even more depth, allowing Lou Piniella to mix and match at will.

The system is also full of power arms like Jeff Samardzija, Jose Ascanio, Kevin Hart and Angel Guzman. The Cubs also seemed to be very high on the left handed Randy Wells. Interestingly enough, Guzman was considered the one of the best arms in the world at one point and should come back even stronger next year after having Tommy John surgery last year.

2. Rotation and bullpen
Rotation------------------------Bullpen
1. Dempster--------------------Swing Gaudin
2. Lilly--------------------------RP Via trade or Hart or Wuertz
3. Zabrano----------------------RP Guzman or Wuertz
4. Marshal/Hill------------------RP Cotts
5. Harden-----------------------RP Samardjiza
6. Gaudin-----------------------SU Marmol
---------------------------------CL Wood

1. Lineup, positions and bench
Lineup-------------------------------Pos
1. Furcal or Soriano------------------C Soto
2. DeRosa or Fontenot or Theriot---1B Hoffpauir or DeRosa
3. Abreu or Dunn-------------------2B DeRosa or Fontenot
4. Ramirez--------------------------3B Ramirez
5. Soriano---------------------------SS Furcal or Theriot
6. Hoffpauir or DeRosa--------------LF Soriano
7. Soto------------------------------CF Fukudome/Johnson
8. Fukudome/Johnson---RF Abreu or Dunn or DeRosa/Hoffpauir
9. Pitcher

Bench
C Blanco
CIF/COF Hoffpauir
INF Fontenot
OF Pie or INF Cedeno
OF Johnson/Fukudome

*This is all speculation. For example if a the Rays don’t use their club option on Carl Crawford, he may become the Cubs #1 free agency pick up to fill their CF need. Or they just don't do anything.

From the archive: Top Ten potential moves on the south side

Top Ten Myths About the Bears

By Danny Sheridan
Kyle Orton and Matt Forte have been most responsible for the Bears averaging 28 points through seven games. Actually, the bigger reason that the Bears have been such a surprise offensively is the play of the offensive line, which people thought would be one of the league's worst groups. That's one myth about the Bears. Here are 10 more.

10. Jerry Angelo is totally cluelessCriticize Angelo for his failure to make good early round picks, giving Tommie Harris that big contract extension a month before training camp and not putting the franchise tag on Bernard Berrian, but give him some credit for one thing: there might not be a better GM in football at finding late second day draft steals. Look at some of the guys Angelo has chosen in the fifth round or later in the last few years: Kevin Payne, Corey Graham, Mark Anderson, Chris Harris, and Josh Beekman (last pick in the fourth round). Does that make up for wasting early picks on Cedric Benson, Michael Haynes, Mark Bradley, and Dan Bazuin? No, but I’m just saying.

9. The bye week came at a perfect time There’re two ways of looking at this. On one hand, the Bears are very banged up right now, with Tillman, Vasher, Lloyd, Hester, and Harris all nursing injuries. Then there’s my way. In a perfect world, the Bears bye would have come one week later, after their game against Detroit, who they could beat missing half their team. That would have given them two weeks off heading into the toughest stretch of their season: Tennessee, at Green Bay, at St. Louis, and at Minnesota.

8. The Bears should be at least 6-1It’s easy to say if not for Greg Olsen’s two fumbles, Tillman’s bonehead penalty, and Lovie Smith’s decision to squib kick, the Bears could be 7-0. Then again, if not for a fortunate goal-line stand (the Eagles play calling was ridiculous), and two fluke touchdowns on special teams against the Vikings, the Bears would have lost both those games. Really good teams find ways to win at the end of games, something the Bears are still figuring out.

7. The NFC North sucks

Outside of the NFC East, it’s the best division in the NFC, even with Detroit threatening to go winless. This is basically the same Packers team, with the exception at quarterback, that won 13 games and nearly got to the Super Bowl last year. Aaron Rodgers is neck and neck with Orton for the title of the division’s best QB and seems to be getting better every game. Minnesota started slow last season too, so you can’t count them out either. I wouldn’t be surprised if it came down to the Bears/Packers Monday night game at Soldier Field right before Christmas.

6. Corey Graham should start over Nathan Vasher

When David Haugh suggested that when Vasher gets back, Graham should still be the starter opposite Tillman, my eyes nearly bulged out. Then this past week, I’ve heard a lot of other people express the same sentiment. Did anyone else see Matt Ryan and Gus Frerotte absolutely tear apart the Bears secondary? Graham is a nice player, and an incredible story considering he didn’t play at all on defense last year. Still, the Bears didn’t pay Vasher 28 million for him to be the league’s best nickel back. And him missing nearly all of last season with a quad injury was probably the biggest reason the defense as a whole took such a big step backwards.

5. It’s time to dump the cover-2 defense
Since every NFL team plays some form of it, there must be a reason why it’s so popular. Like any defense, cover-1, zone, man-to-man- it’s all about execution. That means the Bears can’t have any more games where the defensive line gets no sacks or fails to generate consistent pressure. It helps to have both starting cornerbacks out there too, which was the case when the Bears shut down Peyton Manning and Jake Dellhomme. We’ve seen the bad (Marcus Hamilton not getting deep enough against Atlanta), and the good (Zack Bowman’s pick that sealed the Vikings win) of the cover-2 these last two games.

4. The Bears can continue to pass their way to winsI’m guaranteeing right now that what we saw against the Vikings we won’t see again this season from the Bears. Orton isn’t that good, the wide receivers aren’t that good, and the offensive line isn’t good enough for the Bears to think they can win games by being a passing team first and a running team second. In the last four games, Forte has averaged less than three yards a carry. If that continues, they'll will be lucky to win eight games. I’ll admit though, watching the Bears score 48 points by throwing the ball all over the field was really cool.

3. Devin Hester has lost valueOkay, so he’s not going to have six returns for touchdowns like he did in each of his first two years. And he has looked, well awful, on the majority of his returns. His blockers certainly haven’t helped much either. With all that said, he still has had a big effect on games. Just having Hester on the field has helped the Bears rank fourth in the NFL with an average position following kickoffs starting at their own 30.1 yard-line. He has also turned into a solid number two receiver, and reports are that the Bears may experiment with the Dolphins wildcat formation, using Hester in the Ronnie Brown role.

2. The Bears have seven “Pro Bowlers" on defenseTechnically, that’s correct, but of those seven, only Briggs and Tillman have played like Pro Bowlers this season. Urlacher, who still hasn’t figured out how to get off blocks, is only the third best middle linebacker in the NFC North. Harris has been a complete bust, and has quickly turned into the team’s most overrated player, surpassing even Olin Kreutz. Vasher has been injured, while Ogunleye hasn’t come close to reaching the level he played at last season. Having Brown healthy is obviously an upgrade over Danieal Manning, but even he has yet to deliver the big plays he has made a career out of. The Bears best defensive player so far? Alex Brown.

1. Kyle Orton is turning into an elite quarterbackOrton’s stats after seven games this season: 10 TD, 4 INT, 1669 yards, 62.2 completion percentage, 91.4 QB rating. Rex Grossman’s stats after seven games in 2006: 13 TD, 6 INT, 1639 yards, 61.4 completion percentage, 94.4 QB rating. I know that quarterback play has been so bad here for so long, and that it’s easy to see that Orton is no Grossman, but still let’s take it slow.

Top Ten Reasons the Bulls WILL Make the Playoffs

So my esteemed colleague and TTCS Capo Matt Olsen wrote yesterday's top ten post about the mediocrity of the Chicago Bulls and how they will not make the playoffs. Today it is time to debunk some myths and explore why this once proud franchise will return to glory and the playoffs this season.

The only mediocre thing about the Bulls right now is the lack of Ray Clay and the horrendous excuse for a dance team known as the Luvabulls. During the season ticket holder open practice at the United Center two weekends ago these "beautiful ladies" went through the same lame Bon Jovi dance routine as last season. What they didn't have time to learn a new dance during the offseason? The Blackhawks ice girls are clearly stealing their thunder, step your game up Luvabulls.

10. Drew Gooden

The man with the goofy beard and distinguished collegiate career is back and in a contract year. Gooden has been a double figure scorer his entire career and when he gets decent minutes he averages at least eight rebounds a game. Throw in the fact that big men hustle their butts off in contract years and Gooden could be a nice little surprise this year.

9. No Major Contract Distractions

Now that Deng has signed a long-term contract extension, Gordon is an unrestricted free agent next year and Hinrich has gotten over the first year extension jitters there are no reasons the Bulls will be distracted by money. Hinrich and Deng are happy and financially secure and Gordon needs to play his way into a $10 million a year contract for some team besides the Bulls that is willing to pay him.

8. Larry Hughes is out 6-8 weeks

I'm just kidding, but not really...

7. The mediocre Eastern Conference

The Eastern Conference is again extremely mediocre. The top tier teams the Celtics and Pistons are a year older and the only major player to switch to the East was Elton Brand. While the Magic, 76ers and Raptors will be improved there are so many bottom feeders here it's a joke. The Bulls are supposed to be scared of teams like the Bucks, Pacers, Knicks and Nets. I just don't buy it.

6. A potent fast break

Now that we have a real point guard who loves to push tempo and create plays it is time that we run the hell out of the ball. Our big guys are actually decent at getting up and down the floor (not you Aaron Gray) and we have good enough shooters to let Rose go to the basket and kick out to a midrange threat (Deng) or a long range threat (Gordon). Rose adds the whole new dimension of someone who can finish in transition something the Bulls have been missing for a long time.

5. No Ben Wallace

I cannot even begin to explain how much damage Big Ben did to last season's team. By sulking, demanding respect and demanding to take jumpers Wallace split himself away from the team and got himself traded. There is no doubt Wallace was an astronomical mistake and it is probably the reason Paxson is so shy to make another major shakeup since.

4. Natural Growth

Sometimes teams improve the most when they have a couple years to gel and play together. Now that this still young core has been together a couple years things could turn out okay. Basketball teams take a lot of time to play well together and this Bulls team was pretty damn good two years ago with mostly the same roster.

3. Coaching Staff

Now as I agree with Matt Olsen yesterday, Vinny is in over his head right now and will probably make some mistakes. So how is the coaching staff be No. 3 on this list? For one, the assistants Vinny surrounded himself with are top notch guys who he can rely on quickly. Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff are veteran NBA guys who have been in the league a long, long time and Pete Myers was the one assistant that Bulls players responded to last season. This team will not quit on Vinny like they did Skiles and Boylan because he is not a drill sergeant or completely over his head like the other two.

2. Health

There was one game I attended last season where the two best players on the floor were Kirk Hinrich and Danny Granger. I also spent $75 for the ticket. Now that Deng, Gordon (the toe is minor) and Nocioni are in better health we should have a more complete team. Couple that with the decent amount of young depth the Bulls have and they should be more prepared to withstand injuries.

1. Derrick Rose

Will he have some first-year jitters? Absolutely. Will his shot struggle at times? Yes. Is he still a winner and dynamic athlete and point guard who makes all of his teammates better? You better believe it. Derrick Rose will lead this team as far as it can go and that makes me like my chances a lot more.

From the Archive:
Top Ten Reasons the Bulls WONT Make the Playoffs

Top Ten Reasons Why the Bulls WON'T Make the Playoffs

Last year they were supposed to contend for the Eastern Conference title.

Last year they were supposed to make the leap to the upper echelon of the NBA.

Instead they failed to make the playoffs, ended up 16 games under .500, fired Scott Skiles and left fans grasping at straws trying to figure out why.

Unfortunately things won't get better this year Bulls fans and another summer spent trying to figure out why is imminent.

10. Who's Number Two?

Derrick Rose is going to be the focal point of this team. He's going to be counted upon to be the face of the franchise, the savior, the everything to the Bulls.

But every great player needs a great sidekick to win in this league and I'm not sure the Bulls have one.

Luol Deng is positioned to be, and thought to be the best sidekick option for Rose. But this only comes years after Pax steadfastly believed Deng would be the number one.

There's absolutely no question he's got the skills to play the role, but whether or not he grabs it instead of just taking it is going to be the difference maker for him and this team.

9. Brutal Schedule Early

In order, the Bulls play at Magic, at Cavs, Suns, Cavs, Hawks, Mavs, Pacers, at Lakers, at Trail Blazers, at Warriors, at Nuggets, at Jazz, at Spurs, at 76ers.

Look at those games and honestly tell me how many games you think the Bulls will walk away with.

Momentum is a funny thing and the Bulls may not find out what momentum actually is until the first week of December when they might win a few games in a row.

8. The East is Alive

For years the perception has been that the power of the NBA resides solely in the West.

Slowly but surely the power has been migrating back towards being even, if it's not there already. One of the toughest tests for a young team like the Bulls is beating the teams you're supposed to. Learning how to go for the jugular late in games is an acquired skill for most, but a genetic trait for guys like Kobe Bryant.

There's some stiff competition in the East, even from the lowly teams like the Pacers, Hawks and Bobcats. This Bulls team is going to struggle to consistently play with the same hard nosed mentality former coach Scott Skiles so desperately tried to instill.

7. Slow Down Young Man

I love his effort, but Tyrus Thomas needs to understand how to let the game come to him and quit playing 150 mph whenever he steps onto the court.

The energy he puts forth is off the charts, but that's not enough if you're committing turnover after turnover while failing to recognize where the open man is when you're trapped in the paint.

6. Team of Bench Players

I've heard people describe this team as being one of the deepest in the Association.

But the entire roster, outside of Derrick Rose and Luol Deng, probably wouldn't start on any other team in the league. If there's one thing Pax is good at it's finding blue collared bench players willing to play selfless basketball night in and night out.

Yet the Bulls are in desperate need of some special players and not just good players. Derrick Rose is a start, but right now there's nobody on this team I could count on in a close game late in the season.

5. He's Good, But He's Still a Rookie

You're not going to find a bigger Derrick Rose fan than me.

But the truth of the matter is D. Rose is still a rookie and will have some ugly affairs throughout his first season as a pro. The point guard position is the hardest to learn in the pros and despite his freakish talent and basketball I.Q., Rose is going to struggle.

He's going to win us some games and he's going to lose us a game here and there. But with a guy like him you'll gladly let him work through it because he's going to be a top ten player in the league someday.

4. Nope, Still No Interior Defense or Offense

As bad as we thought things were when Ben Wallace was still on the team, prepare to see something a whole lot worse with him gone.

Teams will realize early on that the Bulls have a pretty good perimeter defense and will instead choose to attack down low early and often. Everyone proclaims the NBA is now built for the guard position, but don't forget the best guards in the league can drive the lane and the Bulls don't have anyone to stop them.

Who are you scared of down low on this team?

Aaron Gray?

Let me put it to you this way: Over/Under on how many posters you'll see Aaron Gray getting dunked on next year? At least six.

3. The "I'm Gonna Get Mine" Factor

This is primarily for Larry Hughes and Ben Gordon, but could extend to anyone on this team is the ship starts sinking early on in the season.

The writing is on the wall, so to speak, for these two guys and this year serves as the only opportunity for them to build a highlight reel before they're kicked to the curb.

You can already see Hughes chucking up shots at will in the preseason and things will progressively get worse as the season wears on. Same too goes for Little Ben when he finally gets over having a very sore big toe.

Winning games won't be nearly important to them as putting up impressive stat lines that will entitle them to big money contracts in the future.

2. Trigger Shy GM

The same guy who passed up a deal that could have brought Kobe Bryant to Chicago is the guy who is responsible for some how clearing up the log jam the Bulls have at the guard positions.

It's essential for Pax to somehow move anyone at that position for something in return that will help this team. With Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Thabo Sefolosha, Larry Hughes and Derrick Rose all fighting for playing time, it's obvious someone has to go.

But the problem is Pax is too hesitant to pull the trigger on a deal and there's a strong possibility this conundrum will remain for the entire season.

1. Rookie Coach

Let's not forget how we ended up with Vinnie Del Negro. Instead of going out and getting the guy we wanted, Pax and Reinsdorf decided to play games and eventually got burned.

The bottom line is My Coach Vinnie has no idea what he's doing. Oh sure, he's been around the game for a very long time, but strolling the sidelines as the head coach is something he's never experienced.

Some guys go their entire lives working up to the big show, but Vinnie bypassed all of that and landed the head gig for one of the most storied franchises in the NBA.

Realistically I'd mark down at least five automatic losses due to his inexperience.