Speaking of which, a few words on the games from this weekend (the ones that were played, not the one that was rescinded). I think the Hawks are headed in the right direction, but Friday night's loss to Washington was a killer. The Hawks outplayed the Wiz for most of the second half, but their inability to make free throws down the stretch cost them dearly. Washington is just too talented a team to let hang around for that long.

But as frustrated as I was by Friday's loss, that's how excited I was by the win yesterday over Chicago. The Bulls have owned us over the past few years, beating us in every manner - blowouts, shootouts, defensive battles, comebacks; you name it, they've done it to us. So to see the guys come out and just blow them out of the gym (and never let them get close enough in the second half to make it interesting), it was one of the most satisfying wins of the year.

Make no mistake - these Hawks are not there yet. There are still too many Wizards games going on to say that they've finally figured it out. But it is clear to me that the kinds of teams (like the Bulls and the Jazz) who have pushed them around in the past are no longer clear favorites to win those games. These Hawks don't shy away from contact anymore, and that is an incredibly positive sign going forward.

Onto the links: