Full Court Press

Or something like that.

What a day in Chicago sports, huh? For those of us that like what happens off the field as much as what happens on it (guilty), yesterday was pretty crazy. When the dust settled, Ben Gordon was a Piston, Marian Hossa was a Blackhawk, Nikolai Khabibulin was an Oiler, and Marty Havlat was a Wild(?). Let's take a look at what all this means for the Bulls and the Blackhawks, after the jump....

By now, you probably know the deal with Ben Gordon. His strengths and his flaws are obvious. Gordon is an undersized shooting guard who can't really handle the ball or facilitate an offense. He is awful defensively, often forcing to the Bulls' other guard to defend the two's that Gordon can't check.

He's the Bulls' best scorer by a mile, though. When Gordon isn't on the court, every possession is an exercise in frustration. Nothing comes easy because no one on the Bulls can carry an offense like Gordon (at least not yet. I think we all agree that Derrick Rose should be there in no time, though). In a league where shooters are always at a premium, Gordon is one of the best around. He hit a bunch of three-pointers last year (over two per game) and did it efficiently (making 41 percent).

At midnight today, Ben Gordon became a free agent.

Stu is skipping town for the Holiday weekend, so he asked me to pinch hit for him. It's pretty exciting, since this is the first time I've had the keys to the Full Court Press car since the end of the 'Roman Era'. For those that are new around here the last few months, I'll quickly introduce myself. I'm Ricky O'Donnell, the founder of the Chicago sports blog Tremendous Upside Potential and one of the editors of the Sun-Times' fantasy blog. I'll be here through the week so please continue to check in.

The unofficial halfway mark of the 2009 baseball season is almost here. In two weeks, baseball's finest will head to St. Louis for the All-Star Game. Who from the Cubs and White Sox deserves to participate? Let's take a look at the candidates, after the jump.

Mark DeRosa waits to be introduced at a news conference Sunday in St. Louis.

Take a look at this photo of Mark DeRosa, decked out in Cardinals red, and say hello to the ongoing nightmare that has been the 2009 Cubs season.

Bad enough that the Cubs lost two of three games to the White Sox over the weekend. Even worse that the game they won was overshadowed by Lou PIniella's blowup with volatile outfielder Milton Bradley. The ultimate insult came Saturday night with the acquisition of fan favorite DeRosa by archrival St. Louis, which strengthened its bid to unseat the Cubs as NL Central champions by obtaining the popular player who was banished from the North Side to make way for Bradley.

A smiling Vince Carter shows off his new Orlando Magic jersey Thursday.

Two blockbuster trades overshadowed the NBA draft on Thursday. After the Cleveland Cavaliers finalized their acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal from Phoenix, the Orlando Magic answered by obtaining eight-time All-Star forward Vince Carter from New Jersey.

Both teams served notice that they intend to remain the class of the Eastern Conference, and the deals only served to raise -- to towering heights -- the bar for the up-and-coming Bulls, who were unable to package their two first-round picks in a deal to move up and instead settled for a couple of unspectacular power forwards.

James Johnson celebrates Wake Forest's 70-68 upset of Duke last January.

UPDATED: As projected by Sun-Times NBA beat writer John Jackson in his mock draft in Thursday's paper, the Bulls selected Wake Forest power forward James Johnson with their No. 16 pick. With the 26th pick, the Bulls took another power forward, 6-8 Taj Gibson of Southern California.

Cubs closer Kevin Gregg walks off the field after blowing another save Tuesday.

It was just over a month ago -- May 16 -- that we raised a red flag regarding Kevin Gregg as the Cubs closer ("Closing in on Marmol?" was the blog entry) after Gregg blew a 4-0, ninth-inning lead against Houston. It won't be long, we wrote, before the Cubs realize that Gregg isn't the kind of closer who is going to take them to the World Series.

Curiously, the Cubs' faithful didn't seem too concerned -- we got only three comments on that post, perhaps because the Cubs rallied to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. But that shouldn't have obscured the fact that the Cubs had a festering problem at the back end of the bullpen.

Gerald Henderson works out Monday for Charlotte, the consensus choice to take the former Duke guard with the No. 12 pick in Thursday's draft.

UPDATE: Bulls general manager Gar Forman met the media Monday, and although he deflected questions about whether he will move up in the draft with the standard "all options remain open" response, the Bulls reportedly have their eye on Duke guard Gerald Henderson if they can package their No. 16 and No. 26 picks and move up.

Ohio State center B.J. Mullens is 7-foot-1, but is described as "raw'' and ''a project.''

The NBA draft is Thursday, and although the Bulls reportedly are interested in packaging their two first-round picks and moving up, they will have the No. 16 and No. 26 selections as it stands now. Who might the Bulls take first at No. 16? I did a quick check of a dozen popular online mock drafts and the consensus is -- drum roll, please -- B.J. Mullens!

Derrek Lee is congratulated by Geovany Soto after his game-tying homer in the ninth.

A week ago, we were bemoaning the Cubs' lack of offense and Milton Bradley's clueless defense after a sloppy 7-4 loss to the Twins. The next day, the Cubs were shut out 2-0 for their fourth straight loss, and there was a whiff of panic in Wrigleyville. Now, euphoria reigns after back-to-back comebacks from huge deficits, the latest an improbable 8-7 win Friday over Cleveland after trailing 7-0 against Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.

Plaxico Burress would give the Bears' a big-play receiver -- but at what cost?

Sobering news for Plaxico Burress, the Bears and any other NFL team interested in signing the game-breaking former Giants receiver: Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth was indefinitely suspended without pay by the NFL on Thursday for driving drunk and killing a pedestrian in Miami.

Commissioner Roger Goodell's punishment came on the heels of Stallworth agreeing to plead guilty to DUI manslaughter charges, receiving a 30-day jail sentence and reaching a financial settlement with the family of Mario Reyes, the 59-year-old construction worker he struck with his car on a Miami highway.

Slump-ridden Alfonso Soriano strikes out again Wednesday against the Sox.

Lou Piniella has seen enough. The exasperated Cubs manager again struggled for words Wednesday to explain his team's inability to hit after a 4-1 loss to John Danks and the White Sox at Wrigley Field. But this time, Piniella hinted that big lineup changes are on the way.