My longtime buddy D-Mac brought me to the Bulls game Monday night.  He splits season tickets with two others guys.  Dan mentioned the dwindling number of loyal Bulls fans in his social circle, so he was pleased I jumped at the opportunity.   I even wore my Bulls socks and D Rose 1 Adidas.

The Greek Freak was ruled out with an injury for Milwaukee.  With the way the Bulls have been playing lately, we figured there was a solid chance they extended the winning streak to 4.  And the 1st quarter only served to inflate that notion.  The Finnisher was everywhere at the start, showing off that majestic shooting motion from midrange and three; rebounding; driving, tipping in a miss; playing in sweet harmony with Zach and RoLo (Otto & Dunn missed the game with assorted maladies).  The Bulls cruised out to a BIG lead after one and it looked like the game would be an MVP award clincher for Giannis – as in, Look How Bad These Guys Are Without Me.  Then the 2nd quarter began.  The Bulls 2nd unit for this game was atypical: Felicio, Blakeney, Selden, Harrison with spot starter TLC.  The Bucks vets erased the deficit quicker than you can say Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.  The Bulls never recovered, despite another strong game from Lauri, a near triple-double for LaVine and 26 big points from Robin Lopez.

Must be a relief to Bucks fans that they can pull out wins like that with Giannis riding the pine.  Not caring about Bucks fans feelings myself, I take solace as a Bulls fan in that 1st quarter.  I see the growing on-court relationship between Zach & Lauri and I think they will soon be an A-list couple.  A as in All-Star 2020.  I grabbed a United Center hot dog at the outset, but my hunger re-emerged by the time I was aboard the 50 Damen bus on my way home.  So I transferred to the 73 Armitage and grabbed a Maxwell street Polish sausage at Jr.’s Red Hots.  It’s a little stand that used to be Sam’s.  Except now it’s owned by Arturo’s (across the street) so you know it’s quality.  I stop by on my way from the Blue Line occasionally for chili dogs, which are really good.  But last night I had a taste for Polish, and they offer both Maxwell St. & Vienna beef varieties.

The Maxwell St. is just how you want it and it hit me right last night.  Sent me off to sleep with dreams of grilled onions and Markannen threes.

Bulls at Grizzlies tomorrow night.  Did you see Joakim Noah (on his 34th b-day) take a charge against LeBron in the closing seconds to seal a win over the Lakers?  My heart exploded with memories of Chicago Noah frustrating the Miami Heat.  Those games and the dislike he had for Bron and Miami were so fantastic.  A crying shame that bad luck robbed us of the meat of that rivalry.  I really believe LeBron might be ringless if Rose never gets hurt.  But I digress.  Let’s get one in Memphis tomorrow.