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I finally watched most of a basketball game and boy oh boy did I pick a nice one, for a Toronto fan that is. Carlos Delfino scored 16 points and Chris Bosh added 14 points and six rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors beat the listless Chicago Bulls 101-71 on Saturday night.

The Raptors made quick work out of the Bulls despite playing their fourth game in five nights. T.J. Ford had 14 assists and Andrea Bargnani scored 14 points for Toronto, which had its largest win against Chicago in franchise history.

Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 20 points. Leading 41-30 at the half, the Raptors opened up the third quarter by outscoring the Bulls 14-1 for a 52-31 lead. Anthony Parker hit a 3 and Jamario Moon stole Luol Deng’s bad pass and took it for a breakaway dunk to give the Raptors a 21-point lead that started the boos from the sellout crowd.

Bulls coach Scott Skiles cleared his starters from the floor with 9:35 left in the third quarter, but it didn’t help as Parker immediately hit another 3 against the Chicago reserves. Chicago starters Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich never returned to the game.

The Bulls came into the season with lofty expectations, but are 1-5 before beginning a six-game road trip on Thursday night at Phoenix. The vibe hasn’t been good in Chicago since the Bulls were involved in Kobe Bryant trade rumors less than two weeks ago. General manager John Paxson put to rest the Kobe Bryant trade rumors less than a week ago, but some fans continued to chant “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!” while the Bulls were down 30-plus points in the third quarter.

Notes: Before Saturday’s game, the Raptors dropped 15 of their last 17 games against Chicago. … The restless Bulls fans started booing for most of the fourth quarter.

I already skinned my knees jumping off the bandwagon after a frustrating home-opening loss to Ottawa. The Leafs looked shakey early, especially Raycroft and then they pretty much dominated for a good 30 minutes, checking like animals and playing quite well, with lots of scoring opportunities. But then, as the end of the game drew near and they had a 3-2 lead things started falling apart. The Senators tied it up and won in overtime. I have read this plot before, oohhh so many times. I am glad I at least switched back and forth watching the Bionic Woman and various other shows so as not to have been hurt too badly emotionally by the Leafs blundering end and yet another sad start to another season that could very well follow their past pathetic escapades…..Ok, it is only the first game of the season and I have moaned enough. Maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs will not SUCK this year. Maybe I should get right back on the horse before I fear falling again.

The Chicago Bears enter the 2007 preseason with a host of problems, just one year removed from an NFC championship. Their star linebacker, Lance Briggs, is expected to hold out. One of their top defensive linemen, Tank Johnson, was cut after an embarrassing offseason. And there are a host of questions about quarterback Rex Grossman.  Things are just not looking to bright for the season ahead.