I'm no capologist, so I have a question for any of you that know how the NBA's salary cap and luxury tax system work:

There's a lot of talk about the Bulls not likely to exceed next year's cap in the free agency orgasm to avoid paying the tax. That's where I'm confused. Luxury tax is not enforced upon passing the cap, rather it's enforced after passing the luxury tax threshold. Even if the Bulls are to resign Tyrus for the QO of 6.25 million and (gulp) retain John Salmons and his 5.8 million dollar contract next year, the payroll sits at ~44 million. This year's tax threshold is 69.92 million. Assuming that goes down next year to say, 65 million, that leaves the Bulls roughly 21 million dollars to get a big name guy, leaving three empty roster spots, which could be filled with the remaining dollars.

All that said, I've seen several people on this site talk about the Bulls not being able to afford a max-contract guy. Am I missing something, as after doing the math the Bulls have more than enough room for a max contract(~16 million) before hitting the tax threshold?

No way around it, I'm starting to hate the Bulls. Watching this team is a chore and I find it more and more difficult warding off the anger that accompanied watching this awfully coached basketball teams. This is going to be a rant, so if you like, feel free to stop reading now.

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Y'all probably don't keep a close eye on the Bulls, but as a Bulls fan with a lot of free time in the PM I've watched my fair share of Warriors basketball the last couple of years. One guy that's always stood out to me is Kelenna Azubuike, and being that the Bulls suck at putting the ball in the basket and also lack any semblance of a competent shooter, Azubuike came to mind as a good trade target.

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The way things look right now, Ben Gordon will not be a Chicago Bull next year. I'm not saying it won't happen; it just doesn't look very likely. With that said, it's time to start thinking about a replacement for BG. What does Ben bring to the table? Scoring, scoring and some more scoring. There's nobody on the market this offseason that can fill it up like Ben, but there is someone that can be Ben Gordon-lite.

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Quite a lot has taken place within the last twenty-four hours. If everything reported is actually true, the Cubs have traded Jason Marquis and Mark DeRosa and in return received Jose Viscaino and three minor league prospects, and calling them prospects is a bit generous. Here's my take on what has taken place so far:

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I've been weightlifting for a good year and a half now, it's only been a short while since I began to realize how important a diet is too putting on muscle. I've put on about twenty five pounds in over that year and a half period(5"7-150 to 5"7-175), and as I wasn't incredibly skinny to begin with I feel it's safe to assume something like 7-10 lb's of that was fat. Currently, I measure in at 13% body fat on one of those bioelectric impedence scales, but I have a feeling I'm a bit less than that. Anyhow, I want to start putting on some serious mass and would like some input into how many calories above maintanence I should be taking in to put on clean weight, muscle and only muscle.

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here is a name that has not been brought up on BCB yet, and he probably won't cost too much: Edwin Encarnaion.

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In an article posted on MLBTR it is being reported that after the Diamondbacks offered Randy Johnson 2-3 million for one year(thats downright insulting) he is looking to find a new team. That is not news. What is news is that he would be satisfied with 8 million, maybe even less. That is very little money and perhaps could end up being the most efficient/valuable contract doled out this off-season. The link for this article is:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/11/dodgers-interes.html

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