… swagger on a hundred thousand trillion:

Hi guys!

Because the Bears can’t even give their offensive coordinator job away right now, they’ve brought in Mike Martz to interview. The same Mike Martz they’ve known all along has had interest in the job. But the Bears didn’t seem to have any real interest in him, what with the thousand other guys they’ve brought in first.

Pro Football Talk’s headline kind of says it all: “Desperate Bears interviewing Martz.”

Of course, Martz certainly has the resume of a guy that knows how to get it done with an NFL offense. He’s familiar with Lovie Smith. He likes to pass. All good things in my book.

But as PFT points out, there’s also a chance this relationship becomes combustible; Martz did, after all, say this about Cutler in September: “He just doesn’t get it. He just doesn’t understand that he represents a great head coach and the rest of the players on that team. Somebody needs to talk to him.”

And we don’t want anyone upsetting our quarterback, that’s for sure.

But I’d counter and say Cutler also could have had an issue with Ron Turner this past season, because Turner, when he was head coach at Illinois, allegedly rescinded on a scholarship offer to Cutler back in the day. Cutler’s dad didn’t think it was cool. Bu that was a non-issue.

I would assume this beef could be similarly squashed if need be.

At this point, one would have to assume that Martz is going to accept the job and come to Chicago to coach. So if Lovie and his whole staff goes down with him after next season, at least he’ll have a friend aboard, eh?

Enjoy the weekend. Don’t freeze your face off.

According to Marc Stein, the Blazers have inquired about Brad Miller. With Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla out for the year, the Blazers may look to trade for a big man with an expiring contract to fill that void.

But it makes little sense on the Bulls end. As I’ve touched on previously, the Bulls are looking to trade either Kirk Hinrich of John Salmons to get further under the salary cap in order to go after two big-name free agents this offseason. Miller has an expiring contract. So even if the Bulls traded him to the Blazers for expiring contracts, what sense does expiring for expiring make, especially when, as Stein notes, Miller pumped in 25 points against Houston this past weekend, and the Bulls have played great in the month of January?

The only way I could see the Bulls going for this is if Hinrich was also involved. The Blazers are rumored to be dangling Steve Blake as well, and his contract is expiring. So he could fill the guard void left by Hinrich, and if they send back all expiring in return, the Bulls might bite. But that’s an impossible prospect. If you put in all the expiring deals on Portland, it totals up to almost $9 million. Hinrich and Miller are making almost $22 million this year. So that trade wouldn’t work.

Stein notes Miller could be involved in a deal if the Bulls trade for Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire. If that’s the case, then it makes more sense, as these two would be one of the guys the Bulls will potentially target in the offseason anyway.

But Brad Miller will likely continue to be a Bull until further notice.

Did you stay up past your bedtime last night in order to watch the Hawks? Did you see them build that early 3-0 lead over the Sharks, and be all like “Yeah, we got this,” only to see it sink away and go into overtime knotted at three? Didja Didja?

And then did you see how Troy Brouwer scored in overtime, and the Hawks avoided the choke job? Do you think I can write this whole post as a series of questions? Well, I think I can?

Yes, friends: it may be absurdly cold out in Chicago this Thursday afternoon, but baseball is right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers report soon. The regular season is only a little over two months away.

And that means it’s time to find out how your team is going to finish before the season even starts! It’s like knowing your life is destined for failure by the time you hit elementary school.

Baseball Prospectus has just released their projections and have the Cubs finishing third in the NL Central at 77-85 behind the Cardinals (89-73) and Reds (82-80). Matt Holliday, anyone?

As for the AL Central, BP’s PECOTA projects the Twins (82-80) to win the division, with the Sox just out of the money at 79-83. They also have the Tigers at 79-83.

Neither team’s record is good enough for the Wild Card in their respective leagues. Sad smilies all around.

Don’t fret, though, Chicago baseball fans. As BLS points out, PECOTA doesn’t factor in luck, injuries, trades and other variables.

Why, last year PECOTA predicted the White Sox would be a woeful 74-88 — they were a mediocre 79-83 instead! — and they had the Cubs as a 92-win team. The Cubs finished the year at 83-78.

You see, there’s just no number they can plug in to adjust for Milton Bradley’s demeanor.

Remember this morning when I was all like: “Oh well, Derrick Rose probably isn’t going to be an All-Star, but I still love him anyway?”

Well guess what? DERRICK ROSE MADE THE ALL-STAR TEAM, per Yahoo! Sports. I was wrong. I apologize.

I guess shooting at a ridiculous clip the last few games — this won’t last, but it’s special to watch now — and playing some of the best basketball in the league this month made the coaches think he was worthy of a spot.

Many pundits didn’t pick Rose, and instead went with Joe Johnson, Rajon Rondo and Josh Smith. Johnson and Rondo are in, Smith is out — which is kind of a shame because he’s changed up his game this year to be a highly efficient player. Al Horford of the Hawks also made the team, which means David Lee got snubbed.

Rose becomes the first All-Star to make the game from the Bulls since a little guy you might have heard of named Michael Jordan back in 1998.

I guess this means Rose has no use for the Rookie-Sophomore game now?

No, for real: have you?

Because he’s been sensational. Tremendous. Unstoppable.

The ankle injury is a thing of the past. The explosion is back. He’s scored 20-plus in five straight games. He’s dunking on foreign players. He’s getting to the hole at will; he’s dropping in pull-up jumpers with ease; he’s hitting one-handed shots in traffic in the lane; he’s sinking 17-footers when the defense sags off of him.

When you can get to the hole pretty much whenever you want and hit the outside shot, it’s a deadly combination. He’s a difficult man to guard right now. And he’s understanding that on this current incarnation of the Bulls, he has to be the man in crunch time. Once the fourth quarter hits, he’s pushed the accelerator to the floor. He told ESPN Chicago last night he almost feels like there’s nothing he can’t do on the floor.

And it’s all helped the Bulls to four straight road wins — something unthinkable as recent as a month ago. The Bulls are 22-22 and playing their best basketball of the season. It’s as if they’re a different team; they’re fun to watch. Their defensive efficiency has crept up to seventh in the league.

Had Rose played this way all season, he’d most likely be listed as an All-Star reserve today. But alas, it probably ain’t going to happen.

Oh well. He’s playing at an All-Star level now, and that’s good enough for me.

Video HT: Docksquad Sports

Watch this video. It’s quite good.

I know it’s an over-covered storyline by now — THE SAINTS ARE SYMBOLIC OF NEW ORLEANS’ RISE — but it’s also incredibly gripping. It’s something you can’t help but root for, even for part-time cynics like me.

The Colts have gotten their Super Bowl in the Manning era … over the Bears of all teams. Do we really want this again? No. No, we don’t.

In closing, I say only this: Geaux Saints.