Bleacher Report - Articles by Scott Glisson

Cleveland Browns 2008: Thank God it's Over

Scott Glisson — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:08:36 -0500

Well the 2008 season has come and gone. The 10-6 Browns of last year were nowhere to be found this year.

The Browns started the season with high hopes and great anticipation for a successful season—a repeat of last season, plus more!

However, the Browns must not have gotten the memo.

Cleveland started off 0-3, not a great start for a team expected to lead their division.

But, the fourth game of the season was against the equally as bad Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns prevailed in that match-up and got their first victory of the season. This was going to be the turning point.

The next game was against division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. The game ended 10-6 with Cleveland on the short end.

So much for the turnaround. But hey, 1-4 is bad, but the season wasn't over.

The Browns then set up to face the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens showed up to play and took care of business 28-10. So now the Browns are 1-5, it was not looking good.

The Super Bowl Champions from a season ago, the New York Giants came to Cleveland for the first Monday Night Football game in a long time for the Browns.

Cleveland DOMINATED the game and took care of the Giants 35-14. Everyone played football and the Browns looked poised to rebound from their dismal start to the season.

The Redskins were next and the Browns seemed to forget what they had shown America the week before against the Giants.

Cleveland travelled to Jacksonville next and actually won.

But, like the rest of the season, Cleveland could not gain any momentum from the win and lost the next two to Baltimore and Denver. They blew 13+ point leads in both of those games and were heading to do it for a third straight week accept Phil Dawson had other plans.

The third game would have been against Buffalo. Cleveland had them on the run, they came back, and then Phil Dawson kicked the game winner in overtime to seal the win.

The Browns lost the next five, but more than losing games, they lost players. Derek Anderson was placed on Injured Reserve with a leg injury, and, the golden boy, Brady Quinn broke his finger against the Texans, played the next game, and was forced to leave the game and have surgery.

The season ended on Sunday against the Steelers. The game did not matter for either team because Pittsburgh had already clinched and Cleveland, well, they were done.

Cleveland set a record on Sunday for most consecutive quarters without an offensive touchdown as they went 24 consecutive without the offense getting into the endzone.

So here's to the 2008 Browns. Another season in the books for Cleveland. Romeo will be gone, hopefully Learner will be gone, and who knows what other kind of firings there could be before 2009 starts.

As they say in Cleveland, "There's always next year..."

Bulls-Heat: Chicago Falls Flat to Surging Miami Heat

Scott Glisson — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:31:28 -0500

The Bulls fell flat one day after Christmas, dropping yet another road game to the surging Miami Heat.

The teams both came out shooting very poorly and they exchanged the lead many times through the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Heat pulled away as the shooting woes continued for Chicago.

“The showdown” of the rookies (Rose and Beasley) turned out to be a big false advertisement for the game as Rose was horrific from the floor, scoring only 10 points. Beasley only put in 14 points in his 33 minutes of play.

Aaron Grey was one shinning star for the Bulls, recording a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Andres Nocioni came out strong Friday night after being slightly injured during a practice earlier in the week.

The game stayed close through three with the Bulls leading at the half. After the third, the Bulls found themselves down two but in position to take the game.

Unfortunately for Chicago, Miami decided to turn it on in the fourth and doubled Chicago’s fourth quarter point total, 26-13, and won the game 90-77.

Overall, the game showed that Miami is back from their embarrassing season a year ago and Chicago cannot seem to win a game on the road.

It is going to be a long season for Chicago if they cannot finish games down the stretch. Derrick Rose is good. Ben Gordon, when he is on, is good, but if they cannot close out a game, the Bulls are going to have a worse record this year than they did last year.

Bulls-Sixers: Chicago Falls Flat in Overtime Loss to Philadelphia

Scott Glisson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:39:55 -0500

The beginning of this game looked a lot like the game played in Philadelphia on Sunday night.

Chicago was down by as much as 16 in the second quarter, but was able to come back before the half.

Like Sunday nights game, Chicago pulled to within three points at the half and went into the third quarter shooting well. They came out fast and took the lead by five, but that lead did not last long.

The Bulls started turning the ball over at record pace and lost their lead in a hurry. As the lead for Philadelphia grew, so did the frustration of the Bulls.

As the game went into the fourth quarter, the lead went back and forth between the two teams. Tyrus Thomas was a rebounding machine tonight including several pivotal rebounds before the regulation buzzer.

As the clock wound down, the Bulls went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 90.

Unfortunately, that momentum did not carry into the overtime play.

Andre Miller went off in the overtime for the Sixers pouring in nine of their 13 total points. The Bulls as a team were only able to score five points in the extra period.

The Bulls looked warn out from their road trip and came out flat Tuesday night at home.

Derrick Rose contributed 24 points in the game but had to sit a lot of the fourth quarter and most of overtime after picking up his fourth and fifth fouls.

Overall, the Bulls fell into their old ways when they were playing selfish, from behind basketball. Just when it looked like Chicago was going to make a run and come back into the game, Ben Gordon would start throwing up prayers and taking no-look shots.

Tyrus Thomas could only do so much with several huge put-back dunks and high-flying rebounds. He had a double-double tonight with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Chicago had a season high 24 turnovers. Both teams went 2-11 from behind the arc.

In an amazing set of facts, Chicago shot 40 percent from the field compared to Philadelphia’s 39 percent. Also, the Bulls shot 87 percent from the free-throw line, hitting 27 of 31. The Bulls missed their chance to make it back to .500 as both teams move to 8-10.

The Bulls look to rebound on Wednesday night in Milwaukee against ex-head coach Scott Skiles and the Bucks.

Bulls-Sixers: Bulls Shut Down Sixers In Philly

Scott Glisson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:57:56 -0500

The Chicago Bulls finished their road trip last night with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Bulls got off to a very slow start against Philly, falling behind after one quarter 34-24. That lead quickly grew to as large as 15 in the first few minutes of the second quarter, but by the half Chicago had rallied and was only down three.

The Bulls came out shooting in the third and blasted the Sixers 31-11. New head coach Vinny Del Negro must have given a pretty powerful halftime pep talk.

One could expect the Bulls to be exhausted after this two-week road trip, but they played like a fresh, young, re-energized team poised for a road victory.

Drew Gooden played one of his best games for Chicago, dropping 20 points on the Sixers. He also had 12 rebounds and three assists.

Ben Gordon also had a solid night for the Bulls. He put up 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Derrick Rose put in 18 points and recorded 10 assists for a double-double. He also had five rebounds. Rose had a magnificent slam dunk, a block, and an ankle-breaking move to the basket that landed the opposing player flat on his butt.

Stellar ball movement and aggressive defensive play got the Bulls back into the game after falling behind early. The Bulls started playing full court defense and pressured the ball more getting steals and forcing turnovers.

Tyrus Thomas played 25 minutes of solid basketball. He had eight points, four rebounds, and one steal. If Thomas can keep this pace, expect to see more of him in next few games.

Larry Hughes exploded from downtown, hitting four of six from behind the line. He also hit six of 10 field goals. Hughes had 16 points in his 25 minutes of play.

The final score was Chicago 103, Philadelphia 92.

Overall Chicago looked like a team that is going to go far. They fell behind early, but came back and played solid ball for the next three quarters to defeat the Sixers.

Not to take anything away from Elton Brand, who had a terrific game for the Sixers, but his team let him down and they were unable to come up with a win on their home court.

The Bulls and Sixers get to rematch on Tuesday at the United Center.

Cleveland Browns: I Hate To Say I Told You So

Scott Glisson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:10:28 -0500

Well, like I said in one of my last articles, we should have just started Dorsey. Quinn was injured and Anderson had been benched as the starter, so Cleveland could have at least given him a shot, right?

Sure, he hasn't really played since he was on the 49ers (yikes), but what would be different if he would have started today?

We still would have lost today, granted probably by more.

Our defense still may have had a stellar performance.

Dawson still would have had a couple field goals to add to his impressive record.

I can really only see one thing that would have been different...

Derek Anderson would not be hurt.

So now here the Browns are, four games left in the season and what used to be an ideal situation for any football team, having two great options for quarterback, has quickly turned into a last ditch effort just to make it out of the season with a little dignity.

The Browns now have Dorsey as the starting quarterback, but don't forget about Joshua Cribbs. He is now the second string quarterback. He is fast, but the Browns cannot run QB sneaks every play.

With games against the Titans, the Steelers, the newly re-energized Eagles, and the struggling Bengals, the end of this season can not come soon enough for Cleveland and its fans.

Bulls-Spurs: Duncan Dominates Bulls in San Antonio

Scott Glisson — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:32:13 -0500

The Bulls dropped another game on the road Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.

The game was very even for the first two quarters of play. The Bulls found themselves trailing by only one at the end of each quarter.

Chicago was posting up, they were playing defense, and they were driving the ball to the basket. Both teams were shooting well and Chicago had a good three-point percentage going as well.

The Bulls came out of halftime strong and found themselves up 65-58 with 5:48 left in the third.

Ben Gordon gave the Bulls a 67-60 lead with 5:36 left and that was the last basket Gordon would make all night.

He was hot tonight. Hot that is until the Bulls stopped passing him the ball and giving him the opportunity to shoot.

Gordon did not even take another shot until the 9:28 mark of the fourth quarter.

At the end of third quarter, the Bulls found themselves down by five, 76-71.

To start the fourth quarter, the Bulls were outscored 9-2, and that lopsided score continue to climb as the clock ticked away to the final buzzer.

The Bulls made a run at the end of the fourth like they usually do, but could not find a way to catch the Spurs. They ended the fourth quarter only being outscored by five, but the final score is the one that matters and tonight it did not go in Chicago’s favor.

It seemed as though Chicago got frustrated and panicked in the fourth and went away from their game plan. They went away from the basket and started taking jump shots instead of competing under the hoop.

Every drive seemed to start with running the ball down the court and throwing it to the basket without time to set up the offense.

Gordon ended the game as the Bulls' high scorer with 23, but all of those were in the first three quarters.

Gooden added another solid performance for Chicago, scoring 20 points and pulling down 12 total rebounds. He is shaping up to be one of the most consistent players on the team. His hard work and big presence is definitely a needed asset on the Bulls this season.

Rose was off his game tonight, scoring only 10 points.

Luol Deng saw over 25 minutes of playing time tonight and contributed 10 points and three rebounds. The Bulls need more consistent play out of Deng as the season progresses if he wants more playing time.

For the Spurs, Tim Duncan dominated the inside lane and made layups and dunks look easy. With the Bulls' weak defense under the basket, Duncan was able to drive and score almost every time he was given the opportunity. He was the Spurs leading scorer tonight with 21 points.

Ginobli was back tonight, much to the dismay of the Bulls. He only played 18 minutes, but was able to score almost a point a minute, finishing the game with 15 points, three rebounds, and four assists.

George Hill also had a solid game for the Spurs tonight. He had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.

Notable injuries:
Chicago: Kirk Hinrich
San Antonio: Tony Parker

The Bulls have one more game on the Circus Road Trip, and then it is back to the United Center.

The 2008-09 Cleveland Browns: It Was Meant To Be

Scott Glisson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:43:07 -0500

It was meant to be.

The stars had aligned over Cleveland Browns Stadium, and this was going to be the year the Browns brought joy back to the lives of football fans.

It started last season when the Browns went 10-6. That was incredible, considering they were supposed to go 3-13 according to preseason ESPN predictions.

Charlie Fry started as quarterback, stunk, and was sent packing. The first time in NFL history a starting quarterback started the first game of the season and was traded before week two.

Derek Anderson. I know what your saying, Derek who? Right, right, that kid from that college. Yes, Derek Anderson came in and threw touchdowns. He threw lots and lots of touchdowns. And more importantly, he won games.

Braylon Edwards could catch anything. This guy looked amazing. Anything that was thrown within 20 feet of him he somehow pulled in and usually ran for a good distance after the catch.

Joshua Cribbs returned punt after punt to the end zone. Good work Special Teams.

Now to the summer of 2008.

There is this thing; some of you may have heard of it, it is called the World Cup. It is the worldwide championship for soccer or ‘futbol’ as it is called everywhere else.

Spain won. The last time they did that was 1964.

Not ringing any bells?

1964 was the last time Cleveland won a football championship—that was before the Super Bowl.

Sports writers and analysts were counting us IN. Not just as a nice little team, but as playoff and possibly a Super Bowl contending team. Even that guy from Dallas, yes Dallas, said that Cleveland was going to the Super Bowl this year.

It was meant to be.

Oh the difference a year makes.

Cleveland Browns: Quinn Out For the Rest of Season

Scott Glisson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:31:53 -0500

Well Browns fans, it's official.

The doctors have looked at Brady Quinn's figure and due to playing on Sunday; he has done more damage to the fracture and will be out the rest of the season.

What does this mean?

Not a whole lot.

This season is in the can already and once again Cleveland can chalk another year into the "rebuilding" category.

It's sad, so sad.

With the Colts, the Titans, and several other non-losing record teams left for the next five weeks, it is looking like the Browns are going 4-12 this season.

Bulls-Jazz: Derrick Rose Dazzles Utah in Wild West Shootout

Scott Glisson — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:08:22 -0500

“Bulls win! Bulls win! Bulls win!” shouted Chuck Swirsky, the Bulls' play-by-play announcer as time expired in Utah.

Derrick Rose had a phenomenal fourth quarter and carried the team to a fantastic and much needed win in Utah.

The Bulls found themselves leading after the first two quarters of play 53-45. That lead quickly diminished in the start of the third as the turnover monster attacked Chicago and Utah was able to make a run.

Utah outscored Chicago 30-19 in the third quarter and found themselves trailing the ailing Jazz 75-72.

Then, as if a switch were turned on inside the Bulls, Rose and the team started to play fast basketball. Rose, Andres Nocioni, Ben Gordon, Drew Gooden, and a slew of other Bulls started hitting shots and making the most out of each possession.

The fouls started coming for both teams and shooting from the free throw line became a factor as well. Rose was four-for-four from the line and also hit his one and only three-pointer he took.

Larry Hughes added 16 points and five rebounds, going two-for-three from behind the arc.

The noise filling EnergySolutions Arena gave the feeling of a playoff game. The close, fast paced game saw the score going back and forth between the teams.

Rose and Andrei Kirilenko traded layups in the final minute of the game in an attempt to seal the deal for their respective team.

Rose had 10 points and nine assists in the fourth quarter.

However, neither Rose nor Kirilenko hit the game winning shot. After Kirilenko hit a jump shot with under five seconds left on the clock, Rose dribbled the ball down the court and pulled up for a jumper of his own.

He missed his mark and the ball flew into the hands of Larry Hughes for a long offensive rebound.

With 2.8 seconds remaining on the clock, Hughes threw up the 22-foot prayer and swished it to seal the deal for Chicago 101-100.

The Jazz were playing without five of their key players, but were previously undefeated at home thus far in the season.

The Jazz also are now 0-5 when allowing teams to score over 100 points.

Chicago moves to 7-8 on the season and has its second road win on this Circus Road Trip.

The Bulls face off against San Antonio on Wednesday, Nov. 26 in San Antonio.

Bulls-Nuggets: Denver Erupts in Fourth Quarter to Defeat Struggling Bulls

Scott Glisson — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:24:31 -0500

The Bulls stalled late in the fourth quarter Sunday as the Denver Nuggets defeated them 114-101.

Trailing by nine after one quarter of play, the Bulls stepped it up and outscored Denver in both the second and third quarters to take an 85-83 lead going into the fourth.

Chicago knew that this game was not going to be easy, as they have lost nine out of their last ten visits to Denver.

Ben Gordon showed up strong tonight with 28 points. He went 5-of-7 from behind the arc and knocked in all nine of his free throws.

Drew Gooden also lit it up tonight for Chicago, tallying 21 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

Derrick Rose had a seemingly quiet night, only scoring 15 points and getting two rebounds in his 43 minutes of play.

Four Denver players scored over 20 points. Nené, Chauncey Billups, and Carmelo Anthony all scored 21 points and Kenyon Martin had 26.

The Bulls were up 99-96 with just over four minutes remaining in the game until Denver turned out the lights and left the Bulls blind on the court. Denver went on an 18-2 run to end the game.

The scoreboard does not look good for the Bulls as it shows them losing by 13 points, but that does not tell the whole story. Even though Chicago added another road loss to its dismal start of the season, this game shows fans, coaches, and even the players that they can compete against solid teams.

The Nuggets are 9-5 on the season while the Bulls drop to 6-8.

There are still three games left on this road trip and Chicago hopes to rebound from this disappointing loss on Monday night against the 9-5 Utah Jazz.

Browns-Texans: Browns Lose Miserably

Scott Glisson — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:19:00 -0500

Today was the nail in the coffin for the Cleveland Browns terrible season.

After going 10-6 last season, led by long-ball slinger Derek Anderson and Head Coach Romeo Crennel, the Browns are now a dismal 4-7.

The Browns played host to the 3-7 Houston Texans Sunday afternoon. Like they have been many times this season, they were expected to win this game.

The Browns are a disappointing 1-4 at home this season, their only win being the week six Monday Night Football blowout of the New York Giants.

The Texans drew their first possession into an eight minute run affair and capped it off with a 17-yard touchdown catch by Kevin Walter. Kris Brown kicked the extra point and the score was 7-0.

Cleveland got the ball and seemed to be driving well until Jamal Lewis fumbled the ball and Houston recovered it. Houston drove the clock down to the end of the first quarter with the score 7-0 Texans.

The second quarter started with a Houston field goal to put the Texans up by 10. The Browns got the kickoff and started their possession on the 24-yard-line.

Brady Quinn was able to get the Browns down to the Houston 14-yard line but could not get a touchdown on the board. Phil Dawson was called in to kick a 32-yard field goal and the score was 10-3.

The Browns let the Texans move up the field relatively easy, but stopped them at their own 31 and forced a field goal. Cleveland special teams blocked the attempt and saved Cleveland from falling behind by more than one score.

Quinn and the Browns were back on the field and he quickly fired off a 42-yard pass to Braylon Edwards down the sideline. The offense then stalled on several incomplete passes by Quinn and Dawson was called on again to hit another 32-yard field goal. He hit the mark and the Browns were down only four points with 2:20 remaining in the half.

Houston returned the kickoff for a touchdown, but it was called back because of a Houston penalty. The Texans got the ball at the 24. Rosenfels passed a deep ball to Walter for 22-yards just at the two-minute warning.

The Texans drove the ball down the field and with 11 seconds left were forced to kick another field goal. The try was good and the score was 13-6 Houston.

A gutsy call by the Texans got them the ball back on an onside kick and the brought in Brown once again to try a field goal from 56-yards out. He missed wide right and the half ended 13-6 Houston.

Being down only a touchdown, the Browns looked to rebound in the second half. Cleveland got the kickoff and Josh Cribbs returned it to the Cleveland 25. After two incomplete passes by Quinn and a short run by Lewis, the Browns had to punt the ball away from their own 31.

Houston got the ball and made a few short passes. A false start penalty drove them back five yards and Rosenfels was forced to pass the ball again. This time, Brodney Pool picked him off and the Browns got the ball back at their own 45-yard-line.

The Browns had the ball for less than a minute before Quinn threw his first interception of the game.

Houston got down the field but was held to another field goal. The Texans' lead was now 10.

Cleveland got the ball and looked like they had finally put together a good drive that could end with a touchdown. Quinn was looking sharp and Lewis broke off a few good runs to get the ball down to the 12- yard-line.

Quinn threw the ball for Edwards, but Bennett picked it off. That was Quinn’s second interception of the game, and his last pass of the game.

After several short plays Rosenfels fumbled the ball, but the Texans were able to recover and maintain possession. This led to a Houston punt from their own 31- yard-line.

Cleveland got the ball with 14 seconds remaining in the quarter and much to the home crowd's surprise, in came Derek Anderson as the QB for the Browns. Could he come to the rescue and save this team from another embarrassing loss?

Nope.

Several more disappointing drives, a fumble, and an interception by Anderson later, a Texans' victory was all but sealed.

The Texans walked away with a win on the road for the first time since beating the Oakland Raiders in 2007. Cleveland goes to an embarrassing 1-5 at home. The season is over. Pack it up Browns fans, at least we still have the Cleveland Gladiators arena football team.

Browns-Texans: The Nail in Cleveland's Coffin

Scott Glisson — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:14:11 -0500

Not even the great Phil Dawson could save the day for the embarrassing Browns on Sunday at home against the 3-7 Houston Texans.

Brady Quinn, who was playing with a fractured finger, threw two interceptions, one of them in the red zone. Jamal Lewis and Josh Cribbs both had fumbles, and Dawson went 2-3 kicking, missing a 39-yarder wide left.

The game went much like the Browns' season with incomplete passes, dropped balls, and inconsistency from the entire team.

After Quinn threw his second interception of the game Anderson was called upon to take over for the struggling rookie. He stepped in and in his first series Cribbs fumbled the ball. That one was not Anderson's fault.

Anderson then had another decent drive for Cleveland, which ended with Dawson missing a 39-yard field goal, a chip shot, wide left. He fumbled the ball on their next possession, and on the possession after that he threw an interception.

The Texans had two fumbles, both of which were recovered by...you guessed it, the Texans. And Cleveland did have one interception, but it came right before Quinn threw his first, so it gave the ball right back to the Texans.

In case you lost count, the Browns had a total of five turnovers in this game. I do not know which is worse: losing another game at home, or losing a game at home to a team that hasn’t won on the road since they beat the Oakland Raiders in 2007.

Really? Five turnovers to the Houston Texans? That is sad—very, very sad.

Savage, enough with your cursing rants at fans. How about some at the coaching staff and the players on your team? Something needs to be done about this bunch of yahoos who cannot seem to put a drive together and score a touchdown. And worse than the inability to score, how about the inability to prevent other teams from scoring?

Even when it has looked like Cleveland was going to get an easy win and walk away ahead by two or more touchdowns, the Browns have blown the lead and lost games they should have won.

But enough of the should-haves. This season has been far too full of them.

Fire Romeo, and maybe the rest of the coaching staff.

Fire Savage? Hey, why not? The next guy can’t do much worse.

It is about time things got stirred up a little bit in Cleveland. Something is not going right.

Bulls-Warriors: Rose Leads Bulls to First Road Win Of Season

Scott Glisson — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:28:11 -0500

Chicago pulled off their first road win of the season Friday night against the Golden State Warriors.

They shot a surprising 51.1 percent from the floor and made almost 50 percent of their three-pointers, hitting 10 of 23. They also went 93.8 percent from the free throw line hitting 15 of 16.

The Bulls and Warriors were dead even on rebounds, both collecting 39 of them. In a more interesting series of events, both teams had 12 offensive rebounds and 27 defensive rebounds.

Drew Gooden, after having a not so flattering evening on Wednesday, was able to haul in 16 rebounds, eight on offense and eight on defense.

The pace of the game was very even from beginning to end. Both teams were shooting well and running the ball well up and down the court.

Larry Hughes of Chicago erupted Friday night for 26 points and four rebounds. He went 5-7 from behind the arc and made 50 percent of his shots from the floor. He also shot 100 percent from the free throw line going 5-5.

Derrick Rose came back from his worst career start as a rookie on Wednesday and scored 25 points. Twelve of those points were in a fourth quarter push that put the Bulls ahead.

Chicago was outscored by one point at the end of the first and second quarter. The third quarter ended in a tie, which put the Bulls down by two. The Bulls, led by Rose, were able to surge past the relentless Warriors and outscore them 30-23 to win the game 115-110.

Lindsey Hunter, in his second game with the Bulls tonight, scored 10 points off the bench while Sefolosha, Gooden, and Gordon all added over double digits in scoring. Nocioni was limited to four points in his 23 minutes of play.

There were three main scorers on the Warriors team tonight. Stephen Jackson exploded for 32 points, but hurt his team with eight turnovers, while Corey Maggette chipped in with 24 points and Andris Biedrins added 23 points. Biedrins was also Golden State's top rebounder with 10.

The Bulls move to 6-7 while the Warriors drop for 5-7. Chicago is just about at the halfway point of this circus road trip. So far they are 1-2. Their next opponents are the Utah Jazz, the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers.

There are two reasons tonight's win is significant for the Bulls.

The first is that it is their first road win of the season. The second is that it shows fans that the Bulls haven’t given up. It would have been very easy for Gordon, Rose, and the rest of the Bulls to give up on this road trip after the beating they suffered on Wednesday night, but they showed that they were not disheartened and came back out to play tonight.

The rest of the road trip will be difficult, but if Rose and the rest of the Bulls produce like they did tonight, we should be more pleased with the results for the next two weeks.

Chicago Bulls Will Not Make the Playoffs, Unless...

Scott Glisson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:04:59 -0500

They get a good big man

The Bulls have no deep presence under the basket. Other than Drew Gooden, who is decent at best, Chicago does not have anyone who is able to be a big man under the basket on the defensive end, and no one to make the easy basket on the offensive end.

Noah and Gooden are not doing the job in Chicago, and someone else needs to be brought in.

They improve their defense

With no big man, the defense is definitely lacking. The Bulls are not playing good transition ball and they are having a hard time making stops. Teams are getting very good looks at the basket, and have a very easy time scoring from not only under the basket, but also from behind the arc.

They play consistent basketball

The Bulls have no consistent players. The closest thing they have in terms of consistency would be Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose. The last time I checked, two players cannot win a game. They can do a good job keeping you in a game, but if only two of your players are shooting well, then you are going to lose.

They play hard from tip-off until the final buzzer.

Nothing can frustrate a team more than falling behind by a couple points early in the first quarter. With that being said, I cannot even imagine how hard it must be mentally to fall behind by 20 points in the first quarter. The Bulls start slowly almost every game, and are usually playing from behind right out of the gate.

Take the Dallas game, for example. Chicago fell behind 21-4 within the first six minutes of play. Somehow the Bulls were able to fight their way back and get the win, but that is not a way a team wants to start a game. It makes the players exhausted once the game finally ends.

Then you have the games against the Lakers and against the Trail Blazers. Both of these games started very badly for Chicago. They were shooting poorly from the floor, and allowing opposing teams to run the score up on them early.

Chicago's poor play isn't necessarily reflected statistically:

Points per game – 98.7           Opponents – 98.2
Field Goal percentage - .421       Opponents - .432
Rebounds per game – 45          Opponents – 44.4
Free Throw % - .794                  Opponents - .777

Some of these stats should be shocking to people considering how poorly the Bulls look at times. With numbers like these, the Bulls should be winning every game.

Let’s hope Vinny can get things turned around, make the moves he needs to make, and get the Bulls back on track to have a good season.

Coach Del Negro has the second-best record of any brand-new Chicago Bulls head coach. Let’s hope he can continue this record and finish strong.

Chicago needs to get off of this ridiculous circus of a road trip, so that they can get back to a normal schedule.

Bulls-Lakers: Chicago Stays Winless on the Road in LA

Scott Glisson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:11:01 -0500

The Bulls lost a tough fight Tuesday night in Los Angeles to continue their winless streak on the road. Chicago drops to 5-6 while the Lakers move to an impressive 8-1.

This is the first game of the dreaded annual circus road trip the Bulls have to make every year.

In an impressive game statistically for Chicago, the Bulls fell into that all too familiar hole before going into the fourth quarter and exploding with offense.

The Bulls found themselves down only a point after the first quarter and down by five at the half. The third quarter went just as it has most of the season, and they fell behind in a big way.

Thus, at the end of three Chicago found themselves down 16 points after being outscored 18-29.

The Bulls then made their best rally cry, outscoring the Lakers 35-26 in the fourth quarter. But if you do the math that still puts Chicago down by seven points. That is how the game ended, 116-109 Lakers.

Every Bulls player who suited up tonight scored at least one point.

Paul Gasol lit up the score board for LA tonight scoring 34 points while Bryant added 21 points.

There were some individual positives to take away from the matchup.

Derrick Rose is the real deal. Wow. There are not many words to describe the ability of this young player. He had 25 points, nine assists, and three rebounds against a great L.A. team.

Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose are solid fits and Chicago needs to keep them both. Ben posted 23 points tonight. However, not all of Gordon’s stats were good tonight. In fact, other than his point total, his stats were pretty lousy. He went 6-22 from the field and 3-11 from behind the arc. Thank goodness the Lakers put him on the line eight times, where he has been solid.

The Lakers are the real deal. After not playing very good basketball, they were still able to out-duel a young, scrappy Chicago Bulls team. At times it looked like L.A. was going to run away with another blow out win but Chicago kept making it interesting.

The Bulls (5-6) continue the circus act on Wednesday night in Oregon against the Portland Trailblazers (6-5).

In Dawson We Trust: Cleveland Wins By a Field Goal, But It Wasn't Pretty

Scott Glisson — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:29:55 -0500

The Browns made it another nailbitter but were able to hang on to their lead against Buffalo on Monday night. Brady Quinn threw another impressive game, and the defense picked off Trent Edwards three times in the first quarter.

However, even though they won, fans should still be asking themselves a few questions.

Why does Braylon Edwards keep dropping passes?

He leads the league with 13 dropped passes, including several tonight. That is as many as he had all last season.

There is no answer to this question. He is a sorry receiver. I hate to say that because his number is on the jersey that I don on game day, but it is a sad day when several of the losses Cleveland has had this season have fallen on the shoulders of Edwards dropping a wide open, deep-field pass to either continue a drive or score a touchdown.

Why does Cleveland consistently let big leads diminish in the final quarter?

Defense.

Our defense is awful. There is no way around that. At times, it seems like our defenders are catching the ball better than Braylon and the offense. It is sad, really.

Another reason is that our defenders cannot make a tackle to save their lives. A guy should feel very comfortable running into a stack of Browns defenders, because he is likely going to get through it and run for a big gain.

Usually, tackles at the line come pretty easily, especially with big S. Rogers and Willie McGinest, but the open-field tackling is just pathetic.

Where is our consistency as a team?

…?

I’m not sure there is a good answer for that one. After our Monday night blowout of the New York Giants, Cleveland was supposed to have gelled together and formed the super-team that experts said they were going to be at the beginning of the season.

That, as is evident in their current record, was not the case.

Cleveland (4-6) won tonight against the struggling Buffalo Bills (5-5), but there is no room for celebration. Enjoy the win until you get your pads off and take your hot shower tonight boys, the next seven weeks could be very, very long.

Bulls-Pacers: Derrick "Rose" to The Occasion Tonight Against Indiana

Scott Glisson — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:25:56 -0500

Chicago went to .500 tonight after blowing out the Indiana Pacers at the United Center.

The Bulls, led by rookie phenom Derrick Rose, were able finish their home stand with back to back victories before beginning their six game road trip.

Derrick Rose scored 23 points and had eight assists. This is his fourth 20+ point game in his 10-game career. He also went 3-5 from the three-point line.

The Pacers were able to take the lead in the second quarter 41-40 after some hot shooting by Granger and Jack, but the lead was short lived.

Chicago came back and took a 55-47 lead into half time.

The third quarter was a dogfight as the lead bounced back and fourth between teams. Rose had 12 of his 23 points then.

The Bulls had an eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter and they built on that lead throughout.

Chicago won 104-91 and moves to 5-5 on the season.

Nocioni added 20 points while Ben Gordon put up 19.

The Bulls also showed great defense tonight racking up 14 steals and 48 rebounds. They shot 92% from the free-throw line making 25 of their 27 free throws.

Chicago begins its annual circus road trip Tuesday night against the 7-1 Lakers

Bulls-Mavericks: Chicago Ride Gordon's 35-Point Night to Rally Past Dallas

Scott Glisson — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:32:12 -0500

After falling behind 24-4 in the first six minutes of play, the Bulls lost another miserable game to the Dallas Mavericks at home Thursday night.

Or did they?

After falling behind 24-4 in the first six minutes of play the fans started booing. That is when the Bulls decided to show up and play a little basketball.

With Hughes and Gooden back on the floor and Gordon playing the best game of the season, the Bulls were able to fight back from the deficit and take a one-point lead going into half time.

Ben Gordon scored the first 19 of his 35 points in the first half and gave the Bulls the energy they needed to go into the second half.

With the addition of Deng’s 20-point night, the Bulls were able to outlast the persistent Mavericks.

The Bulls pulled ahead late in the second quarter and never looked back. They stayed ahead the rest of the game, although the Mavs tried making several comebacks. They cut the Bulls lead down to four or five and then Chicago would make another run and go up by as many as 10.

Rose had another solid performance, putting up 16 points and adding nine rebounds and six assists. He scored eight of his 16 during a15-6 run at the beginning of the third quarter for the Bulls. His consistent level of play should be a beacon of hope to Chicago fans.

Coming off of their injuries Hughes and Gooden scored a combined 13 points. Gooden got the start tonight and played around 40 minutes.

Thomas had a decent night scoring eight points and pulling down eight rebounds.

Hopefully the energy and rhythm the team found tonight will become something of a habit. Not the falling behind by 20-something points in the first six minutes, but if that is what it takes every night to get a victory, so be it.

Stay tuned Saturday when the Bulls (4-5) take on the Pacers (4-3) at the United Center for their last home game of November.

Hawks-Bulls: Chicago Helps Atlanta Stay Perfect

Scott Glisson — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:41:52 -0500

Chicago was hoping to play spoiler to Atlanta’s 5-0 start but came up short Tuesday night.

The Bulls fall to 3-5 while the Hawks go to 6-0. It's the best start they have had since the 1997-1998 season.

The Bulls were outscored 26-22 in the first quarter but took the lead early in the second quarter led by Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose.

Derrick Rose matched his career-high with 26 points, but Chicago still managed to fall behind again. Even though Chicago outscored Atlanta in the second and fourth quarters, the difference wasn’t enough to overcome the lead gained by the Hawks.

Al Horford scored a career-high 27 points for the Hawks and pulled in 17 rebounds. This great single performance mixed with the absence of Bulls starters Gooden, Hinrich, and Hughes all about sealed the loss for Chicago.

Again, they looked solid in the fourth quarter but had dug themselves too big of a hole to get out of.

Stay tuned on Thursday night when the Bulls (3-5) take on the Mavericks (2-5) at the United Center.

Consistency The Name Of The Game For The Bulls

Scott Glisson — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:20:18 -0500

At times they have looked great, but at times they have looked awful. Such is life so far for the young Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls haven’t won a game on the road this season. Sure, that means they are 0-3 on the road, but that could be significant if that trend continues.

They are also 1-4 in the conference. That is not good, especially since they have lost twice to Cleveland. In the case of any tiebreakers for playoff spots at the end of the season, a losing record in the conference is not good.

Derrick Rose has been one of the shinning moments in the Bulls early season.
This kid is looking really, really good. He is averaging 17.7 points per game, 3.90 rebounds per game and 5.1 assists per game. He is shooting the ball at 45 percent, hitting 83 percent of his foul shots, and he is mixing it up with some of the biggest names in the NBA.

Ben Gordon has also been another solid bench player. He is not starting again this season, but seems to have found his spot on the team. Speaking of the bench, in their last game against Phoenix, Chicago’s bench scored over 40 points.

With all these positives it is still disappointing to see their record at 3-4. But have no fear, it is still very early and I would expect to see a lot more consistency out of this young team. And yes, I will still call them a young team, especially with the addition of Rose.

While I do not see Chicago making it very far in the playoffs (if they get there) I think we should see lots of improvement this season. They are not as good as a Cleveland or Detroit, but Chicago has a good team.

Hopefully we will have many exciting wins this season.

The Incredi-Browns Blow Another Game with Defensive Breakdown

Scott Glisson — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:08:28 -0500

Unbelievable. Someone needs to remind the Browns that the object of the game is to win. Something seems to have been lost in translation and the defense has decided that they no longer enjoy big leads, or winning games.

Brady Quinn had an amazing night. His stats tonight where better than Anderson's. He threw two touchdown passes to Winslow, he kept the offense moving; the Browns were up by 13 at one point.

And then it happened; the defense quit on the team.

It started when Brandon McDonald decided he was Superman and leaped at a receiver on the seven-yard line. He missed, and the receiver ran for a 93-yard touchdown. That made the score 20-23, still in favor of the Browns.

Winslow then fumbled a ball on the ensuing drive and the Broncos recovered it. They turned that turnover into another touchdown and took the lead for the first time since the game was 7-0 in the first.

But the Browns were not done yet. Led by Brady Quinn, they took no time at all moving the ball down the field, and Jamal Lewis ran it in for a one-yard touchdown, putting the Browns up 30-27.

That wasn’t good enough for the Browns' defense, however. They decided to once again give the Broncos the lead. With just under two minutes to go in the game, McDonald (recognize that name?) once again managed to blow a tackle, and the receiver made it into the end zone for a 34-30 Broncos lead.

But here comes Quinn; he was going to save the day. Joshua Cribbs, who had been stellar up until this point in the game, managed to have a terrible return on a squib kick and gave the Browns their worst field position of the game.

Quinn quickly moved the ball down the field but a misfire on third down left it 4th-and-1 with 50 seconds left on the clock.

Quinn threw to Winslow; the same Winslow who had his first two-touchdown game, the same Winslow who caught 10 passes for 111 yards; and what does Winslow do? He let it slip right through his hands.

Possession Denver.

Game-set-match.

Great job Quinn and Cribbs. If anyone should start updating his resume it shouldn’t be Anderson, it should be the defensive coordinator.

Where Oh Where Did Last Weeks Browns Go?

Scott Glisson — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:13:54 -0400

Wow. What a game, huh?

In the words of The Office’s Dwight Schrute, “False.”

The Browns were riding high after their Monday night blowout of the previously undefeated New York Giants and came into Sunday’s match with more confidence then they had had all season.

Unfortunately, by packing up all that extra confidence, they left their offense in Cleveland.

A scoreless first half and 11 combined punts. Anderson had something like 30 total passing yards and four completed passes (give or take). Where was the Anderson that secured his spot so handily last Monday? Where was the Braylon Edwards that caught a 70-yard pass? Where were the tight ends that showed up and caught the touchdown balls?

The Redskins on the other hand did have a good first half, yardage wise, but had no points to show for it. Then finally they drove down the field in the third quarter and scored the first touchdown of the game.

Cleveland then saw that it was possible to score points in this game and went the other way for a field goal.

The Redskins then took it to the end zone again early in the fourth quarter.

The Browns looked all but out of it with just under three minutes to go. They had been stopped on the two-yard line and decided to go for it on fourth down. They did not get it, they gave up possession and they turned the ball over for what seemed to be the last time.

But wait, last years Cardiac Kids from Cleveland weren’t done yet.

Clinton Portis got the ball and ran it out of the end zone and up the sideline, and then, for the fourth time in two weeks, was stripped of the ball and possession went back to Cleveland. Could they possibly come back?

The Browns made a couple great pass and run plays and, again, on fourth down, went for the touchdown instead of the guaranteed field goal from Dawson. They got the touchdown.

Then they got the two-point conversion.

Could they come back and win the game with as little offense as they had had this whole game?

With two timeouts remaining for Cleveland and one for Washington, all Cleveland had to do was hold them to three-and-out and get the ball back.

Down only 14-11, Cleveland’s defense did what they had to do, stopped the run, and got the Browns one last shot at glory.

The Browns drove down the field, and then it happened. Anderson threw three straight incomplete passes and left the whole game on Dawson’s shoulders…from 54 yards.

Dawson’s kick went wide right and the game was over. The Browns had done everything had to do in the final seconds except make the final play.

Now I am in no way putting this game on Phil Dawson’s shoulders. Anderson and Edwards, the whole offense looked awful. It is not fair to play a horribly executed game and then leave it on one guys shoulders to bail you out.

So, the Browns fall to 2-4 and have basically fallen out of any contention. Any kind of momentum they thought they had is probably gone, and it looks like this will end up being another losing season for another Cleveland sports team.