The Morning After: Bulls Cruise, Fire Lose

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 28, 2010 3:45PM

Bulls Crush Nets
If there was one cure for the slumping Bulls, it was the hapless New Jersey Nets; the Bulls bounced back from Thursday's beating at the hand of the Heat to crush the Nets 106-83. While Derrick Rose (7 points) and Kirk Hinrich (3 points) were quiet, Jannero Pargo led the Bulls with 27 points and Taj Gibson added 22. The Bulls were up early and started the second quarter on an 11-0 run from which the Nets wouldn't recover. The win leaves the Bulls 1.5 games back of Toronto for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with 10 games left on the calendar. Next up is a trip to Detroit this evening to take on the Pistons (5 p.m., CSN)

Fire Drop Opener
The Chicago Fire opened up the 2010 MLS campaign in New York, helping the Red Bulls christen their new, lavish stadium. But instead of playing spoilers, the Fire played the victim, losing 1-0. Andrew Dykstra, the Fire's rookie goalie, allowed Joel Lindpere's shot by him in the 40th minute, the only goal of the game. The Fire had a few of their own chances, including an impressive bicycle kick from Brian McBride early in the game, a terrific free kick by Mike Banner (tip of the hat to NY goalie Buona Condoul for the save) and a near miss by Patrick Nyarko late in the second half. The Fire next travel to Colorado for a match next Saturday (3 p.m., TeleFutura).

Spring Training
The White Sox scored five runs late to top the Rockies 6-2 while the Cubs played the Padres to a 2-2 tie.