KyleStack.com

Time to go back to my old tried and true method: random sports thoughts…

Tannen-doh!

Mike Tannenbuam’s explanation that Braylon Edwards’ punishment was due to his being out late at night — rather than Braylon drinking and driving, no matter the time of day — is an obvious ‘what the hell?’ moment. The New York Jets general manager certainly did a miserable job in showing where his priorities lie. Dumb as it is to express more anger at a player being out late than a player committing a DUI, Tannenbaum still managed to come off as a hypocrite even after stating his list of priorities. Jets tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and linebacker Vernon Gholston were in the car with Edwards when he was pulled over last week. That means they were also out at 5 in the morning. Somehow, they’ll escape any form of punishment, according to Tannenbaum, while Edwards’ punishment is that of not starting today’s game.

To recap, here’s the message Tannenbaum sent: Staying out late at night — with an off-day the following day, mind you — is a worse offense than drinking and driving. The only person who will be punished for staying out late is the one drinking and driving, even though staying out late is on record as the worse offense. The two players who were also out late, but who weren’t driving, won’t get punished even though their late night fun is apparently worse than drinking and driving. Yep, that’s not confusing.

Bulls don’t see red

In other words, the Chicago Bulls never go for the kill. More specifically, Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson doesn’t go for the kill. He’s mangled so many potential trades for superstars that you’d think the ex-Bull never saw in person the effect Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had on a championship team. Back in 2006 and 2007, the Bulls had opportunities to trade for Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett. That was a time when their glaring weakness was post scoring yet Paxson, as my friend Tom Lorenzo astutely recalled, didn’t want to give up Luol Deng.

Kobe Bryant’s preference in the summer of 2007 was to go to Chicago, but the Bulls never made that happen. As I remember, Bryant’s worry at the time was that any package the Bulls sent to the Lakers to complete the trade would compromise the Bulls’ ability to field a championship-level squad. That squashed Kobe’s interest. However, I don’t remember the Bulls looking into third and fourth teams who could participate in the trade that could leave the Bulls with Kobe and still an effective supporting cast. Point is, Paxson didn’t seem to exhaust all options in a bid to trade for Kobe in his prime. Or at least so it appeared from what the media reported.

Who knows if Paxson had a legitimate shot at LeBron James or Dwyane Wade this summer. There seems to be that underlying feeling that James, Wade and Chris Bosh decided their fate well before free agency opened. Tough to criticize Paxson for not getting any of those three, and he did well to get Carlos Boozer for that inside scorer the Bulls haven’t had since….Artis Gilmore? But refusing to part with Joakim Noah for Carmelo Anthony is a kick to the crotch for any Bulls fan.

This is a franchise which won titles with MJ and Pippen. They should know it takes a superstar to win in the League and Derrick Rose isn’t that guy. He’s a great 1A; he’s not going to be your go-to scorer. He can’t be, seeing as how he’s their point guard. Much as like Noah, Carmelo gives them a better shot at winning a title. Paxson’s reluctance to include Noah in a ‘Melo trade should be causing more anger among Bulls fans.

Dwight the Clown

Dwight Howard is a fun guy, but he’s seemed worn down the last few weeks. I talked to him at EA Sports’ Triple Double event last week and he appeared out of it. Here’s a look at the Dwight we’re all used to seeing.