you get all excited because the mighty chicago bulls are about to make their return to the playoffs, and then they go and stink up the joint in their opener.

the only good sign? fans were booing. fans have expectations. i think the team can live up to them, although they have to now sweep the remaining games with the wizards to get up to the anticipated win total against that weak club.

i watched lebron james - or, as i like to call him, " 'bron 'bron, " - in his nba debut tonight, and i was duly impressed. he's got the floor sense, he was pretty smart with the ball, and he even did a ridiculous thing like give up the ball on the break - when he was completely alone, mind you - to give the uber-selfish ricky davis a dunk opportunity.

now what i don't get is the universal dislike of lebron. (universal, in this case, indicates the rest of my office.) i'm absolutely fascinated with the kid, from his rumored talent to his confirmed pre-accomplishing-anything wealth to the fact that his mom is one of the world's strangest women. i don't think the guy's done anything that warrants the dislike that he tends to receive. sure, he soaks in the adulation, but he's 18. 18-year-olds enjoy adulation. (to wit: the poly-cotton blend seats in my chevy are embroidered with the words, 'le rud.') i really, really hope lebron's a smashing success. he seems likable and relatively grounded and he continues to say the right things.

and why does nobody like him? al sharpton would say because he's a young, black, rich male. al sharpton's probably somewhat right on this one.

(it should be noted, of course, that much of the world, or at least my office, also wanted yao to fail. probably because he's young and rich and non-white. probably.)