• I wish I could have trash talked Obama at the Bulls-Wizards game like this joker.  [D.C. Sports Bog]
• Lou won’t say whether Z or Dumpster will start on Opening Day for the Cubs.  Z hasn’t fared that well in recent years, but he is clearly the most dominant pitcher on this staff (Harden doesn’t count). [Sun-Times]
• The Bulls suck.  Are they even trying on these road games? [Tribune]
• Thabo is getting some serious minutes in OKC and he hasn’t been playing badly.  Just don’t tell that to these guys. [Thank You Isaiah]
• Cedric Benson got locked up for 2 years by the Bengals.  Who won’t those guys give a contract to? [ESPN]
• Here’s some reasons to watch the World Baseball Classic.  It should be fun. [Zoner]
• I’m into statistics, and I’ve looked into the Bulls numbers pretty extensively.  That being said, I don’t know what half these acronyms mean, but if I did I bet they’d be interersting. [Blog-a-Bull]
• If you hate Duke, and I know you do, I’ve got just the t-shirt for you. [HHR]
• Did you ever wonder exactly how a zone blitz works in football?  Wonder no more. [Windy City Gridiron]

• Illinois won a tough one over Minnesota last night.  Get ready for Sunday against Michigan State. [ESPN]
• Milton Bradley gets hurt in the first inning.  I know it’s just a strained quadricep, but I’m still in disbelief.  Not really.  But yeah. [Sun-Times]
• LeBron has an answer for Howard’s crazy shot, he’s going to do it underhand.  I wonder if this kind of stuff happened back in the day. [Ball Don't Lie]
• Did Sweet Lou push DeRosa out the door?  I find it hard to believe, but who knows. [Tribune]
• Half-price Bulls tickets are available for some upcoming games.  I’d pay $7 to watch Vinny act confused for 48 minutes. [Chicagoist]
• Zambrano will not be pitching in the WBC (seriously this time, I think). [Bleacher Nation]
• Looks like Thabo is making an impact on the Thunder already.  Though I don’t think giving his new teammate stitches was what they had in mind. [NBA.com]
• Kerry Wood’s back hurts.  I’m not going to laugh, but Zoner is. [Zoner Sports]

I’m not all that concerned about Chicagoans having remorse over the recent trades, but out of curiosity I looked to see how our old friends were doing on their new teams. As you would expect, they are not doing great.

Larry Hughes:
@TOR—1/9 fgs, 1/3 3pt, 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, -8 +/-
vs. IND—2/7 fgs, 1/2 3pt, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists, -2 +/-

Andres Nocioni:
@DAL—2/11 fgs, 0/3 3pt, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, -6 +/-
vs. NO—7/11 fgs, 4/7 3pt,  19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, -2 +/-

Thabo Sefolosha:
@GSW—0/3 fgs, 0 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 2 steals, -7 +/-

Drew Gooden:
@DAL—DNP-CD
vs. NO—DNP-CD

Cedric Simmons:
@DAL—DNP-CD
vs. NO—DNP-CD

At least Gooden and Simmons aren’t hurting their teams.  While Noce had one awful game and one decent game, his team lost both.  We were used to nights like this from Nocioni; high energy, good shooting night while his team loses.  This fools coaches and management into thinking he deserves minutes and a big contract, when really he only has one decent game in five.

Hughes is back up to his old tricks, shooting just 19% from the field (I rounded up) in his two games with the Knicks.  He has got to be the most inefficient player in all of basketball.

Thabo did nothing in 18 minutes.  I mean really nothing.  But he’s a defensive specialist, you say?  Well whoever he defended that game scored double digits, since 7 Warriors finished with at least 11.

I’m ecstatic not unhappy that these players are gone.

According to ESPN:

Chicago’s Thabo Sefolosha is headed to Oklahoma City for one of the Thunder’s five stockpiled first-round picks in the next two drafts.

This makes sense because after the Hughes deal we needed to move some salary to get under the cap for this season.  I like Thabo but his usefulness to the team was not much, especially with Salmons coming to town.  Trade deadline roundup coming tomorrow.