So I slow down, glance over my left shoulder and start veering left. I had seen a cyclist behind, but I didn't realize how fast he was going. He doesn't yell anything until he collides with my left arm/shoulder and yells "Watch where you're going!"

So I yell "Slow down!"

He nearly lost control of his bike, but he recovered. I was fine.

Meanwhile, another cyclist comes by and all I heard him say was "Moron." So I yell a two-word reply that I can't print here. He turns around and says "I was talking about the other guy." So we laugh and he pedals on.

Meanwhile, the guy who hit me stops up ahead and gets off his bike. So I figure we're going to have an altercation. But as it turns out, he turned his bike upside down to work on it and didn't look at me as I ran by.

Now I'll admit I could have done a better job of looking behind me, but the lakefront path is NOT a velodrome for racing bikes. Some of those guys are flying by at 50 mph. And it's dangerous. I've seen them hit kids before who are at the beach.

I seriously think they should put speed bumps along the path. It gets too crowded during the summer for guys to be racing by.

So as I'm finishing my run, I'm by the softball fields at North Ave. when I hear screeching brakes and a loud bang. An older guy was going the wrong way on an exit off LSD and would have been going the wrong way on the Drive if he hadn't hit another car. His car was totaled. He had to go to the hospital. A bunch of softball players and I tried to make sure there wouldn't be another accident.

Weird night. I ran 7 miles, which is a little farther than usual, and I wouldn't have had the collision nor seen the accident if I just ran my usual five.

Hope to see a bunch of you guys Sunday. Go to the "Run and Fun" entry to see what I'm talking about.

There wasn't a follow-up question to Reinsdorf, so Silverman asked D'Antoni about it today on the "Waddle and Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000.

Here's what D'Antoni said;
"Doug’s been a friend, we played the same years in college and then we were at the Olympics trials together, so I’ve known Doug for 40 years probably and he was great. And we talked about it and jumped back and forth and I think one of the cities he would do that is Chicago, he wouldn’t do that many places and he probably wouldn’t do that with many guys, but we have a special bond and that was just something that we threw out at each other when we were talking through the process, but you’d have to ask Doug that. I don’t know if we ever got to that point but it was an interesting concept."

It's a weird concept. I'm under the impression Collins doesn't even want to be a head coach, can't imagine him wanting to be an assistant - for anyone. Probably nothign to do it, but it was interesting.

Yet Mark Jackson is considered a legit candidate despite never coaching.

I'll take a guy who's been around Sloan for three years than someone who's good on TV. That's not to say Jackson can't be a good coach, or that Corbin is indeed ready, but it's an interesting scale when weighing these candidates.

A.J. Pierzynski went from instigator punk with the Twins to an instigator punk with the Sox, whose fans have done a 180 with the catcher.

Blackhawks fans hated Bob Probert when he was scoring goals and beating the hell out of people with the Wings, but they loved him doing the latter with the Blackhawks.

John Starks had a cup of coffee with the Bulls after being one of the most hated players among Bulls fans. Albert Belle was a hated Indian before coming to the South Side.

Who am I missing?

He was once really good, but he's damaged goods now and a step slow. Is it worth sending down Felix Pie? Apparently the Cubs think so.

I think he's worth the $200K. If it doesn't work out, you release him and move on. If he's got anything left, it's a bargain.

What about you?

I know Pax can't hire a coach based on who's the most popular. But if he does hire an assistant with no experience, I hope for Paxson's sake he wins right away. Because that was a brutal season the Bulls just finished, and fans aren't going to be patient.

It would help Paxson's case if the Celtics win it all, and the Bulls get a guy credited with being the defensive architect of the champs. Of course, it helped him a bit having Garnett, Pierce and Allen on the team.

Then went to see the "Hopper Collection" at the Art Institute and finished the day with some live country music at "Bernice's" on the South Side. Great little place in Bridgeport near The Cell. You have to be buzzed in. Great beer collection, including my new favorite - Peroni. Laurie's friend Joe and his band were great (and I usually hate country music).

Went bowling Sunday and nearly broke my personal best of 145, but choked on the last ball and finished with 143.

Love this city. Saw "Jersey Boys," and it's a great, great show.

I was a little bummed I was going to miss Big Z vs. Big Unit, but was glad the weather intervened. Although I did feel bad for the fans who braved that weather to see that matchup and then it didn't happen.

Feel bad for the Bulls beat reporters going through a coaching search. Nothing worst. I started a poll today at www.suntimes.com/sports to see who you'd like to see be the new Bulls coach, and the early favorite is "I don't care, I've lost interest." Go vote

And get ready for that race Sunday. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to the "Run and Fun" entry and write Pat.

I don't see any probative value in the shot. I can't tell if he's drunk or sober or ready to tangle with a cop. That's not to say I wouldn't have run the photo. I would have.

I just asked one of my editors what he thought, and he said it looks like no one is out of control and no one looks drunk. Maybe. But I've taken pictures where I was drunk but you can't tell.

The first thing I saw is Benson has some cute friends, and I'm not talking about Deon Beasley.

Jersey #'s which should be retired by Chicago teams:

#3????? Pierre Pilote & Keith Magunson (Blackhawks)

#31??? Fergie Jenkins & Greg Maddux (Cubs)

#2????? Norm Van Lier (Bulls)

#14??? Bill Melton (White Sox)

#99??? Dan Hampton? (Bears)

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"Hardest to Watch Play' Ex-Chicago Great in a Different Uniform:

Cubs????????????? Billy Williams???????????? (Oakland)

Cubs????????????? Ron Santo????????????????? (White Sox)

Cubs????????????? Greg Maddux???????????? (Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego)

Blackhawks?? Bobby Hull???????????????? (Winnipeg, New England)

Blackhawks?? Denis Savard???????????? (Montreal, Tampa Bay)

Bears???????????? Mike Ditka???????????????? (Dallas, Philadelphia)

Bears???????????? Jim McMahon??????????? (SD, Phila, GB, AZ, Cleve, Minne)

Bulls????????????? Scottie Pippen?????????? (Houston, Portland)

Bulls????????????? Michael Jordan????????? (Washington)

White Sox???? Bill Melton???????????????? (California, Cleveland)

White Sox???? Robin Ventura?????????? (NY Mets, NY Yankees, Los Angeles)

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SEVEN Players You Wish Could Play One More Game in a Chicago Uniform:

7. Minnie Minoso?? (White Sox)

6. Ryne Sandberg? (Cubs)

5. Ernie Banks (Cubs)

4. Dick Butkus (Bears)

3. Bobby Hull (Blackhawks)

2. Michael Jordan (Bulls)

1. Walter Payton (Bears)

Cheers!

Walter 'Butch' Brzeski
Chicago

As far as the blow-up dolls, I love how so many talking heads on the radio (including friends of mine) said it wasn't a story then spent their entire shows talking about it. One host said he wished he didn't have to talk about it. Then don't. It was a provocative, legitimate story. It provoked passionate debate. That's why it was covered by "Outside the Lines" and on SportsCenter and other national shows.

One writer critical of the story actually brought up Myanmar, like that's where the bar is set for sports writers. Please. Give me a break. If he meant we overplayed it on the cover of the paper, that's an argument. But if it's to imply this wasn't a story - wrong.

Yes, boys will boys. But it's 2008 and at times the clubhouse is a professional workplace for the media, and I can see where some would be offended by a blow-up doll with a bat stuck up its butt. Even some of the Sox were embarrassed. Even A.J. said he was "proud" not to be associated with the prank.

Plus, it's stupid. Slump-buster? Please.

And before this becomes strictly a gender issue, imagine if there were racially insensitive jokes or images in a slump-busting stunt. Would that make it different?

I covered the Bulls for five seasons and this never would happen in an NBA clubhouse. I talked to a veteran NFL writer who said the same thing. But I've talked to baseball writers who said they've seen worse. Why is the culture in baseball so different?

Anyway, good for Floyd. Great game.

The Bulls still are likely to interview Avery Johnson.

D'Antoni would be an interesting fit with the Bulls. Reportedly, he chafed in Phoenix because he thought general manager Steve Kerr micro-managed. How will he get along with John Paxson. I don't think Pax micro-manages, so they might get along fine.

But D'Antoni does have that reputation of emphasizing offense over defense, and I'm not sure Pax will appreciate that.

John McDonough hasn't been making mistakes since taking over as Hawks president, and he's not going to make one with this move.

Foley back to the Hawks. Good move.

Besides, who doesn't believe the possibility that the cops down there were overzealous. We've seen Benson for three years, do you ever remember him being overly aggressive? That's the last thing I would expect from Benson.

If Benson is convicted of anything, the Bears should act accordingly. He shouldn't be treated more harshly because he's been such a huge bust on the field.

If nothing else, Benson could be a warm body at running back. A warm body who was a No. 4 overall pick.

And how can you give Tank Johnson all those chances, including jail time, and cut Benson over a boating-while-intoxicated charge?

Do you remember Lou Piniella saying things like that about Red Sox Nation? I think Hank Steinbrenner might have, but Ozzie doesn't enhance his team's image by talking about the Cubs.

And then I read that there were blow-up dolls in the Sox clubhouse before the game. That is not the way an elite organization acts. It's bush-league. Stuff for the minors. I've been in a lot of clubhouses and locker rooms, and I've never seen anything close to that. Can you imagine the uproar if that was scene in the lockerrooms for the Red Sox or Yankees.

Look, teams slump. The Sox are slumping. That happens. But handle it with class or you'll be viewed as the second-class team in town. And that's unfortunate.

And suddenly Matt Forte will get taken a lot higher in your fantasy football draft.

Benson was arrested on Lake Travis near Austin after a Lower Colorado River Authority officer made contact with his 30-foot boat to do a random safety inspection at 9:07 p.m. Benson failed a "float test," an abbreviated field sobriety test, and when the officer instructed him he would have to come to land to do an extended test, Benson became argumentative, according to a press release from the LCRA.

While I don't think this is nearly as bad as a DUI, it's still another strike against Benson. A few days ago Greg Couch wrote that Benson is officially a bust, and maybe he's right.

Benson got off on the wrong foot in Chicago when he held out for nearly all of his rookie training camp. Hopefully the Bears will be able to get Forte and Chris Williams in on time this season, because Benson truly never recovered.