Chicago Bulls: Stan Van Gundy's Sour Grapes Taste Sweet to Bulls Fans

Sour grapes. Bitter pill.

Whatever the analogy you'd like to use, you can feel free to insert them after anything that comes out of Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy's mouth. His recent media whine came at the expense of the NBA's clearly most valuable player, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose.

This time, the Ron Jeremy lookalike took exception to the media's crowning of Rose as the league MVP, overshadowing the job that Magic center Dwight Howard has done in Orlando. Now don't get me wrong, Howard is his team's most valuable player, but Van Gundy discredits himself when he makes bitter and whiny comments like that to the media.

While he might not have lost as much credibility as his comb-overly delicious brother Jeff did when he predicted the Miami Heat would shatter the Bulls' NBA-record 72 wins this season, statements like this do him no favors.

When he says things like this, he sounds more like a fella who gets turned down by a Victoria's Secret model, only to remind his buddies that, "She's not that pretty. Actually, she's ugly. Brutally ugly."

I understand his need to stand up for his own player, but anyone with any common sense would know that Rose has led a team—picked to finish fourth or fifth by all the experts heading into the season—to the top spot in the Eastern Conference with just 12 games remaining in the season.

It has been Rose's leadership, humility and winning attitude that has helped foster in that same mentality up and down the roster.

The Bulls are not only playing at a high level (won 17 of their last 20 games during the most important time of the season), but they are also saying the right things. They are acting like a championship-caliber team that exudes confidence, not brashness, and humility instead of the moronic "We haven't won anything yet" laser light show the Miami Heat threw for themselves before the season started.

In a season that opened with a large cloud of arrogance thanks to LeBron "the decision" James, Chris "misty eyes" Bosh and Dwayne "Chicago's unwanted son" Wade, Rose's Bulls have become the humble and hard-working team most blue collared fans like to root for. They battle, they play defense, and they speak with a team dialect that is not only classy, but easy to like.

They aren't over dramatic (see Paul Pierce's wheelchair), they aren't overly show-timed (see Kobe's Lakers) and they aren't in fourth place in the Eastern Conference (see Van Gundy's Magic). This team is here to get to work, get to winning and get to the locker room so they can continue to improve.

Scarily enough, despite Jeff Van Gundy's recent comments about how the Bulls have maxed their potential, I believe the Bulls have not even begun to play their best basketball of the season. It's funny how one Van Gundy gets quoted so the other needs to be heard a day later.

To be honest, I'd rather hear a month's worth of deep thoughts from Jack Handey than these two wonder twins. Heck, I'd rather hear from Gleek the Wonder Monkey.

Derrick Rose has elevated the play of his entire team, despite lengthy injury issues from two major cogs in the wheel (Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah), and he has done it in the most impressive way possible, with humility.

In a time when egotistical players like Carmelo Anthony (The Denver Nuggets are 11-4 since trading him to New York, which is 7-10 and has lost seven of its last eight games), Chris Paul, Deron Williams and the "Two and a Half Men" in Miami are pounding their chest in promotion of themselves, Rose is touting his team and their progress, while also striving to continue the growth.

Not only is Derrick Rose the MVP of the league, he is the hard-working role model the NBA has been looking for since Michael Jordan's departure following the 1998 season, yet to hear it from Derrick Rose's mouth, one would think he feels lucky to simply be able to represent his home town in the NBA.

Oh wait...he is, showing that the pride in the name that is written on the front of the jersey is stronger than the one spelled out on the back and it oozes from every drop of sweat the 22-year-old earns on the hardwood.

Rose truly has truly become Chicago's chosen son, his value is unrivaled and nothing Stan Van Gundy moans about will change that.