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BLOSSOMING YOUNG ROSE WILTED BUT SURVIVED 15 YEARS IN THE NBA

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After the Michael Jordan era in the 1990′,s Chicago hoops turned very sour. The Bulls were the ultimate disgrace and a bottom feeder in the NBA for several years. To this day after the Jordan retired, the Bulls had a few moments of glory, but mostly black clouds have lingered up above the United Center. Before the 2008-09 season, the Bulls found some luck in the basketball world getting the lottery number one pick as the ball bounced their way. The Bulls’ chances to get the number one pick were very slim. The Bulls used that number one pick on local Chicago kid Derrick Rose, who played hoops at Simeon High School and was one best basketball players in the city and the state. Rose played his college ball out of Memphis University and he was looking to be the savior of Bulls basketball. It started out with a bang but ended up as what if, as that is the Chicago way in this city’s sports landscape. The smell of roses led to a wilted flower in need of water as he had to go elsewhere for that. Many thought his career was done but he survived although he was never the same player. Had moments of the old Derrick Rose. Some say he is a future Hall of Famer. Did he do enough on the court to get selected to that prestigious honor?

Derrick Rose, obviously drafted by his home team the Bulls, ended his career in the town he played his college ball in – the Memphis Grizzlies. Rose would play 15 seasons in the NBA with six different teams and some of those years he played for more than one team. Rose played seven seasons in Chicago. He would suit up for the Knicks for 4 seasons, Pistons 2 seasons, Timber wolves 2 seasons, 1 season with Cavaliers, and the Grizzlies. Rose came into the league like gang busters as he was quick and could beat you to the lane. He had a sniper shot that could hit from anywhere. He could dazzle you with a nice feed to any one of his teammates on the floor for an easy bucket. His first season in a Bulls uniform he was Rookie of the Year and awarded a spot on the All Rookie NBA team in 2008-09 season. In his third season, the 2010-11 season was magical as the Bulls had the best record in the league at 62-20 and almost made you forget about Michael Jordan. Just for a second. This Rose-led Bulls team stormed themselves all the way to the Eastern Conference finals and fell victim to that dream team of the Miami Heat. If you hate Lebron James with his decision to take his talents to South Beach where he assembled the big three which included Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosch. The Heat dispatched the Bulls in 5 games. What if Lebron stayed in Cleveland? Could the Bulls have gotten by him and that Cavaliers team he abandoned or perhaps another team? That was the year when Rose was the youngest ever player to win an MVP award in the NBA at 22 years of age. He made the All-NBA team as well in that 2010-2011 season.

Then the Bulls the following season would once again be playoff bound in the 2011-2012 season. They opened up against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. They blame head coach Tom Thibodeau for having Derrick Rose in the game as the Bulls were up by double digit points. Rose would injure his left knee as he tore his ACL. You could add another “What If” to this situation. Rose would miss the entire 2012-2013 season to recover. Many fans and the Bulls front office blamed Thibodeau, whose philosophy as a coach is when you have a lead keep your foot on the gas pedal. If Rose blamed his coach for the injury, why then did he play for him years later in New York and Minnesota. Rose had that explosiveness to the net which is a blessing but a curse for some players as the grind on the knees can easily snap that ACL. It could happen any given day at any given time. Rose would recover but was not the same player as he once was. Unfortunately that ACL in his left knee was only the beginning for his issues on his basketball legs. In 2013, Rose had a pair of tears to his meniscus in his right knee. In 2015 another tear to the meniscus, this time back to his left knee. Rose definitely lost more than a few steps from being that MVP at the age of 22.

You have to respect Derrick Rose to continue to overcome these injuries and still play a significant role for an NBA team. Rose had to change his game no doubt. He would become a weapon with his below the rim style over making the splashy dunk as he did not have that explosiveness due to the knee issues. He played a different role coming off the bench mostly, Teams would look from him as a quick spark. On October 31st of 2018 in Minnesota, wearing a Timber Wolves uniform Rose scored 50 points against the Utah Jazz. In 2020-2021 he was important to the Knicks team playing solid basketball off the bench as the 6th man which he almost won that award. Who was Rose playing for in 2020-2021? His old coach from the Bulls, good ole Tom Thibodeau who the Bulls front office marched out of town back in the days.

At the end, Derrick Rose averaged 17.4 points per game in the NBA. Rose averaged 3.2 rebounds per game while dishing out at least 5.2 assists per game. Those are not bad numbers. Rose is only 36 years old. In basketball years are like dog years so his frame is much older as the work to get into shape to play in the NBA have to be excruciating at that age. Rose would end up being 3 x all-star. His numbers don’t jump off the page at you but the Basketball Hall of Fame have guys with less credentials than Rose had. I was not a fan of Rose when on one media day right before one of those NBA seasons was about to start, he was talking about his contract instead of giving insight to the reporters on how the Bulls were going to do that particular season. When athletes cry they need more money to feed the family or give to their entourage, it just makes people like Johnny Lunch Pail spit out venomous words against these primadonnas making millions. Of course you can defend Rose and others mouthing off like that at a young age. Young and stupid… we have all been there. Overall my opinion is that Rose is worthy of the Basketball Hall of Fame. I like his work ethic to overcome those injuries. I don’t think he did enough in his entire career to get that honor. I think if he had two more seasons healthier under his belt before the first major knee surgery, then you can put him in. If I was the Bulls, I would not retire his number. Not sure if the Bulls have their own Hall of Fame of sorts like many franchises do. Definitely they should have a spot for a Chicago kid playing for the home crowd winning an MVP award. Derrick Rose still brings the Chicago Bulls fans the best memories of any other small amount of them we have after the Michael Jordan era. What if the Rose did not wilt in that playoff game versus the 76ers? Maybe the Bulls could have had another title. Let’s not forget about the people behind the scenes. Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest – the owner and the front office at the time. The Chicago’s sports landscape has never had the sharpest tools in the shed when it comes to the owners and their henchmen.

NFL WEEK 5: WEEKLY PREDICTIONS DONE THE WILD SHAMROCK WAY

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In week 5 we remember the great Greg Landry who played quarterback for the Lions for 11 seasons in the 1960’s & 70’s. Landry passed away at the age of 77 this week. Landry played 15 years in the NFL. After the Lions he played for the Colts and Bears. He also did two years in the USFL in the 1980’s with the Arizona Wranglers and Chicago Blitz. He was 44-51-3 as a starter in the NFL throwing 98 touchdowns and had 103 interceptions.

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:(10-6)

THURSDAY NIGHT RECORD:(3-1)

FRIDAY NIGHT RECORD:(0-1)

MONDAY NIGHT RECORD:(4-2)

SEASON RECORD:(36-28)

NFL STRAIGHT PICK-EM WEEK 5

THE THURSDAY NIGHT GAME

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS(3-1) AT ATLANTA FALCONS(2-2)

This match up is too close to call. A coin flip will do. I have bet against Baker Mayfield so far this season and it has cost me. The Falcons have been hard to figure out as well. Can Captain Kirk Cousins ditch those losing ways on prime time games? Which is a fair question. The Buccaneers and the Falcons coming off wins from last week. This is a division game which means these teams know each other. Even though Cousins is new to the division this will be a shoot out. I bet on Mayfield because he has shown me up every week. I like Cousins making it a close affair, but Buccaneers prevail at the end.

OUR PICK: BUCCANEERS

THE SUNDAY SLATE

THE LONDON, ENGLAND GAME

The NFL is always scoring points with the Queen of England. Is that the Commissioner Roger Goodell on top?

NEW YORK JETS(2-2) AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS(4-0)

Aaron Rodgers will face a familiar team from his past in the Vikings. While Sam Darnold might want to settle the score with the team that drafted him in the New York J-E-T-S. Vikings are surprisingly 4-0 as Darnold suddenly is showing something to explain why he was drafted in the first round in the first place. This game is on neutral ground over the pond in England in where anything can happen. The Jets had a bad week at home losing to the Broncos in bad weather. Rodgers all-time is 17-12 against the Vikings which was done in a Green Bay uniform. Rodgers struggled last week and was mouthing off as he always does when he shows he’s incapable of producing every game like the old days. The Vikings are well-balanced on offense and that defense has been mostly lights out even though they let Green Bay back into that game last Sunday. The Jets line has not played that well for Rodgers. The Jets wins have come from the Titans and Patriots while the Vikings have beaten the Packers and the 49ers who New York lost too. The Vikings are sailing hot right now and I’m riding them over the Jets who have mostly been grounded this season for malfunctions behind center mostly.

OUR PICK: VIKINGS

CAROLINA PANTHERS(1-3) AT CHICAGO BEARS(2-2)

Andy Dalton failed to beat the team that drafted him last Sunday. Can Dalton rebound and beat one his other X-teams? The Bears rookie quarterback I thought played his best game of the season last Sunday with a win over the Rams. The Panthers are a better team with Dalton behind center, but they still overall are a bad team. I like the Bears being at home. I like D’Andre Swift having his best game last week as a Bear.

The Bears should be able to score points anytime versus the Panther defense. The Bears defense has done well all year and should be able to hold Dalton and this Panthers offense in check.

OUR PICK: DA BEARS

MIAMI DOLPHINS(1-3) AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS(1-3)

The poor Dolphins and the Patriots have lost three straight games after they opened up with a victory on the opening week. The Cheetah Tyreek Hill is getting restless as they have no quarterback behind center right now to get him the ball. When is the question. Will the Patriots give their rookie quarterback Drake Maye the keys to the car?

Both teams have had troubles on the offensive side of the ball. You can say the Patriots have played better at home. I think Miami runs the ball down the Patriots throat in this one and escapes New England with a victory. This as they find a few plays to get their caged animal Hill involved which will pay off.

OUR PICK: DOLPHINS

BALTIMORE RAVENS(2-2) AT CINCINNATI BENGALS(1-3)

The Bengals finally won their first game of the season last week. Whoopee!!! They played the Panthers. The Ravens gave Buffalo their first loss of the year as they rode the Derrick Henry steamroller to victory.

The Bengals and Ravens will always be worth watching. This Bengals team is 2-8 all-time versus Lamar Jackson. Joe Burrow beat the Bengals easily when Jackson was hurt and is 3-4 all-time versus the Ravens. The Ravens will score points off a bad Bengal defense that has suffered some injuries. They are not the same unit when the Bengals were in the playoffs two seasons ago. The Ravens defense seems to finally be finding their 2023 groove in last week’s performance. Bengals usually dig themselves out of the hole they dug early in the season. This match up is not what this Bengals team needs right now. These teams don’t like each other as it will be close but Ravens prevail.

OUR PICK: RAVENS

BUFFALO BILLS(3-1) AT HOUSTON TEXANS(3-1)

The revenge of Stefon Diggs part 2!! The former Bill will face him & get his chance to stick it to Josh Allen and the front office. The Bills come off an embarrassing loss to the Ravens on Sunday night just getting steamrolled by Derrick Henry. The Texans rebounded from a loss to the Vikings in Diggs’ first revenge game of the season. The Texans pulled off a W over the Jaguars. The Texans are this team that experts like in the AFC to go deep into the playoffs because of CJ Stroud and all the weapons he has. The Bills defense is ailing right now as this could be a shoot out. Allen without Diggs has been successful dishing the ball out to all his guys as you can’t zone in on one guy facing the Bills. The Texans will be without their starting running back, Joe Mixon. I like the Bills running back James Cook having a big game here to spoil the Diggs plot. The Bills defense will bend plenty, but they will capitalize on a mistake made by the Texans to get the Bills back on track.

OUR PICK: BILLS

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS(2-2) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS(0-4)

Last week we had a Joe Flacco sighting in Indianapolis. The recipe for winning in Indianapolis. Make sure that Anthony Richardson plays and gets hurt, then replace him with an established veteran. The Colts did this last year with Gradner Minshew. They did it last week versus the Steelers bringing in Flacco. Colts win. Do you think the Browns fans are happy seeing the guy they had last year take them to the playoffs, win a game? The Jaguars may have played their best game of the year last week in a loss versus Houston. Is this the week the Jags get that first W in the win column? The Colts have not won in Jacksonville since 2014. The Colts will be without their star running back, Jonathan Taylor, who has an ankle injury. The Colts coaching staff is still trying to figure out who they should start. It will be either Flacco, the guy that will win games, or Richardson who’s looking like a bust every week. While they kick around ideas, Jaguars find a way at home to get a win against a team they know and own at home.

OUR PICK: JAGUARS

CLEVELAND BROWNS(1-3) AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS(3-1)

The big question in Cleveland is: When to pull the plug on Deshaun Watson? The Commanders have won three straight with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels taking the league by storm. Watson gives another lackluster performance as the Brownies have lost two straight. The Commanders offense looks legit and may be one of the better scoring machines in the league. Watson’s offensive line is in shambles and he is too busy yelling at his own players on the sideline. I would let the defense have at it if I was a Browns offensive lineman. My QB is a douche bag. It’s getting uglier by the week in Cleveland as this team is about to blow up. Not in a good way. I like the Commanders and they protect Daniels. They have a strong running game behind him. He’s a duel threat. His passing is pin pointed. The Commanders defense should be able to rattle Watson’s cage enough for Daniels to put the Commanders up by double digits.

OUR PICK: COMMANDERS

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS(2-2) AT DENVER BRONCOS(2-2)

The Raiders put up their second W of the season in handling the dysfunctional Cleveland Browns squad. Everyone just assumed the Broncos were going to be one of the worst teams in the league with a rookie quarterback. As Denver has quietly won two straight games. Bo Nix is still developing as the Broncos have shown they have a defense out in Colorado. The Raiders are fighting through injuries and trade talk as their star wide receiver Devante Adams wants out of Vegas.

For the game I think Bo Nix will be able to generate points off the Raiders defense. Gardner Minshew has mostly struggled this season for the Raiders and I thought him coming to Vegas was great move. The Broncos are at home and when I pick against them they screw me. I’m jumping on the Broncos horse for this week at least.

OUR PICK: BRONCOS

ARIZONA CARDINALS(1-3) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS(2-2)

The Cardinals are pretenders. They blew up the Rams for their only victory of the year. They had a solid game versus Buffalo in week one. Last week they were blown up by the Commanders. They have lost two straight. Really not a good team to face a week later a road game in San Francisco when you are on a losing streak. The 49ers handled their business with a lay up over the visiting Patriots. The Cardinals defense will not be able to stop this 49ers offense. Even with the injuries, the 49ers replacements have kept this well-oiled machine able to still score points. The Cardinals will give the 49ers a better battle than the Patriots, but the score should still be one sided in favor of San Francisco.

OUR PICK: 49ERS

GREEN BAY PACKERS(2-2) AT LA RAMS(1-3)

Jordan Love returned last week and had a tale of two halves versus the Vikings. The Rams are kicking more field goals than scoring touchdowns. Caleb Williams, the Bears rookie quarterback, had his best game of his short NFL career so far against that Rams defense. I like Love having a big game since he knocked the rust off in his return last Sunday. Matthew Stafford will keep things close for most of the game. I like the Packers pulling away late in this one as Stafford makes a mistake that cements this one for Green Bay.

OUR PICK: PACKERS

NEW YORK GIANTS(1-3) AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS(3-1)

The Giants best receiver ruled out rookie Malik Nabors who was sidelined with a concussion last week. The Seahawks lost their first game on the season being on the road playing the Lions. Seattle gave the Lions a run for their money putting up a ton of points. The Giants have been improving since the horrific start they had out of the gates of the season. Seattle’s defense has some injuries so the Giants should generate some points and keep this a close affair. In the long run, I like Seattle winning this at home as their offense is rolling right now.

OUR PICK: SEAHAWKS

SUNDAY NIGHT

DALLAS COWBOYS(2-2) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS(3-1)

The Steelers came back down to earth as the Colts gave Pittsburgh their first loss of the year. The Cowboys will be without their sack master, Micah Parsons. The Cowboys still found the win column over the G-Men last Thursday. Justin Fields’ career has been rejuvenated this season with the Steelers after years losing with the Bears. The Cowboys offense will face a solid defense versus the Steelers but I like Dak Prescott’s chances of having a big game despite the challenge. The Cowboys have had success putting up points on the scoreboard against AFC North teams. The Browns in week one. Then they came back in the second half versus the Ravens but fell short in that one. Fields will cave in this prime time affair is my gut feeling.

OUR PICK: COWBOYS

THE MONDAY NIGHT GAME

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS(2-2) AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS(4-0)

Everyone will think this Monday match up is a lock for the Chiefs. The Saints came out like gang busters out of the gates scoring over 40 points in the first two contests winning both games. Now Derek Carr looks like Derek Carr. The Chiefs have walked a fine line getting the lucky breaks through basically all their games. The Chargers defense held Patrick Mahomes to 17 points. The Chiefs have been racking up the injuries as Mahomes’ play makers are now being serviced in the MASH unit. The Saints defense has played solidly all year. Can that Saints offense wake up? That is the biggest question. After losing two straight now seeing the Falcons and the Buccaneers ahead of you in the standings, this game could be a turning point of the season. A win & the Saints are back baby. A loss means the Saints may march into a losing season. I like the Saints defense doing to Mahomes what the Chargers did collapsing the pocket and giving Houdini no escape routes. The Saints offense uses Alvin Kamara’s legs to pull off the upset as Mahomes’ luck finally runs out for at least one week.

OUR PICK: SAINTS

RIP: MUNTUMBO THE BASKETBALL FLY SWATTER

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The NBA was the shit back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. It was a different game on the hardwood than in today’s game. Many players pride their selves on the defensive side of the ball. It was game where if you dared make a drive up the middle of the basket, you were going to get hit hard on defense. Nowadays if a player sneezes on the other side of the court, they get called for a foul. Stats like rebounds and blocked shot meant something doing the dirty work. The man in the middle from the Democratic Republic of the Congo located in Africa specialized in the block shot for18 seasons in the NBA. Played his college ball at Georgetown and was selected in the first round of the 1991 NBA draft 4th overall by the Denver Nuggets. Dikembe Mutumbo made a living clearing the middle and swatting down weak ass shots that people tried to get away with. He even had a finger wag warning you after he blocked the shot – don’t let him see you do it again or their will be consequences. Mutumbo was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. After basketball, he became a Global Ambassador for the game. He created his own foundation to give back to the community in Africa where he grew up. A gentle giant off the court but a guy who patrolled the middle of the floor like a moat with swimming gators. He played hard, he gave back, and unfortunately he passed away far too young this week at the age of 58 dealing with brain cancer.

Dikembe Mutumbo played for six teams in his NBA career. He played five seasons with three teams that started with the Nuggets who drafted him. He also played 5 seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets. Mutumbo played one season with the 3 other teams that include stops in Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey. He will remember mostly for the two teams that retired his jersey in Denver and Atlanta. Mutumbo made his mark in the game as he stood 7’2″ tall – a skyscraper on the courts with giants. From the start of his NBA career, he was selected all rookie in 1991-92 season. He was an 8x all-star. He won the top defensive player of the year 4 times. He was selected All NBA 3 times. He had the most blocked shots in the NBA three times. He was a 3x total rebound champion. He was selected to six all-defensive teams. Mutumbo is ranked number 20 all-time in NBA history with 12,359 total rebounds. Mutumbo loved to block shots as he ranks number two all-time in NBA history with 3,289 swats. Number one in blocks is another NBA Hall of Famer, another former Rockets center, Hakeem Olajuwon who had 3,830 blocked shots.

Many athletes will not give back to the community they came from. Dikembe Mutumbo gave back when he played basketball and after he retired from the hardwood courts for good. Mutumbo retired from the NBA in the 2008-09 season. In 1997 he formed his own charity organization called the Dikembe Mutumbo foundation. The money would help his community in the Congo with health, education, and quality of living. His foundation helped build a 170 bed hospital in the capital city called Kinshasa. That hospital has treated a half a million people and counting. When he retired from the NBA, he worked charitable and humanitarian causes. He became the first NBA Global Ambassador. Mutumbo worked hard on a development of the African Basketball League. Which could be another pipeline of players to the NBA. It also keeps players’ dreams alive playing the game in an organized league back at home.

I loved Dikembe Mutumbo’s Geico commercial where he swats a box of sugared cereal a kid tries to put in the parent’s shopping cart. Then he says…

That’s how he played defense like an enforcer at the front door of that sophisticated night club keeping the riff raff out and away from the net. I remember watching all those great Bulls teams with Michael Jordan and those 1990’s six titles.

I remember Mutumbo facing off against Dennis Rodman the time he played for the Bulls. Two of the best defensive players of all-time locked in an epic battle below the rim. Mutumbo played solid against the Bulls in the 1990’s like every team in the league. Mutumbo only averaged 9.8 points per contest. But he averaged 10.3 rebounds a game. He would give his team extra shots on offense and stops on defense. I remember In 1994 he was still playing for the Nuggets and they were the 8th seed in the Western Conference. They were facing the number one seed at the time; it was the Seattle Supersonics. The Nuggets were the first ever 8th seed to knock off a number one seed in NBA post-season history as Mutumbo contributed in that post-season series. I learned recently reading that King Lebron James when he first entered the NBA with the Cavaliers he drove through the middle and took a elbow to the face by Mutumbo. The King had a fractured face. Now that is priceless.

Dikeembe Mutumbo was in Atlanta undergoing a treatment on a brain tumor. They lost him. Another case of how cancer can spread and just eat a human’s body like rust to a car. Way too young at the age of 58. He had that humbling smile. That deep throated laugh. The accent with the right index finger wagging is imprinted in many NBA fans for life. He was never kicked out of a game wagging his finger at another player. Mutumbo would find some referees give him a technical for the wagging as the opposing team got some free throws out of the deal. This guy was a giant and that’s most of the battle to play basketball. He still came to America and competed with some of the world’s best basketball players in college and at the pro level. To move to a foreign country for college and standing out with an accent and being so tall is not easy to get use to. He was smart as he spoke 9 different languages. He defined his skills to play college ball and beyond like the NBA. He put the work in day and night to perfect his craft so he could play 18 seasons at a high level. Off the court he helped people throughout the world. Plus he was a family man with a son, Ryan. Ryan followed his father’s footsteps to Georgetown and played basketball there. Now he’s transferring to Georgia Tech to play hoops as Ryan was born in Atlanta. Mutumbo has touched many people in only 58 years. His life should be celebrated and I bet it will be. I’m sure God will draft him in the first round as one of his angels.