Now THAT was a finish. With toes touching and his hands grasping, Santonio Holmes drove a stake into the collective heart of the Arizona Cardinals and their fans. It was the last score of a thrilling fourth quarter that saw the Cardinals rally from thirteen points down to take a 23 – 20 lead with 2:37 left on the clock. That was 35 seconds more than the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to drive 78 yards to the end zone, regaining the lead and winning the forty-third Super Bowl. I won’t waste your time recapping plays like James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return or Larry Fitzgerald’s 64-yard catch and run. You watched those on Sunday. Instead, I’ll try to hit the nuances and little snippets you may have missed as you stuffed down wings and left the room during gameplay so you wouldn’t have to miss a commercial.

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After all the Amar’e Stoudemire chatter and the Chris Bosh rumors, GM John Paxson and the Chicago Bulls have once again failed to pull the trigger and bring a big name to the windy city. They did however; make three trades in the last two days of dealing, receiving two former Bulls in return. Here’s my take on what were reported as Paxson’s last transactions.

Sacramento Kings

Bulls send: SF Andres Nocioni, PF Drew Gooden, PF Michael Ruffin, SF Cedric Simmons
Bulls receive: C Brad Miller, SF John Salmons

Analysis: Chicago added Gooden’s expiring contract to get out from under Nocioni’s exorbitant deal that has three years remaining. Nocioni was the heart of this team for some time with his gutsy play and willingness to take the big hits. This year however, his performance had declined due to some injury issues and a logjam at small forward. Gooden has produced for the Bulls, but injuries also plagued his season, and in the world of the cost-cutting NBA, his expiring deal was a huge bargaining chip. Ruffin and Simmons are throw-aways in this deal.

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After a disappointing 2008 season where the Chicago Bears were apparently a few plays away from 11-5 (also a few away from 7-9 in that same ideology), fans are growing restless with the Jerry Angelo / Lovie Smith regime. With NFL free agency starting tonight at 12:01 am and around twenty million in cap space, the Bears have the opportunity to fill holes and bolster their biggest roster weaknesses. I’ll shoot you through some of their trouble spots and whose services they should be pursuing.

Quarterback: Duh. With Rex Grossman leaving to free agency (and saying he would love to play for the Lions!?), the Bears are in dire need of an experienced quarterback to compete with Kyle Orton for the starting job or at the very least a competent back-up.

Possible Solutions:

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