Circus Trips Showing Two Sides of United Center Teams' Spectrum

When watching the Chicago Bulls on the circus trip, it seems inevitable that they will let a lead slip away or go down by a lot when it is all said and done. They have been close in parts of games with Los Angeles, Denver and Portland, but all of them have ended in double-digit losses.

On the other side of things, the Chicago Blackhawks have dominated two opponents on the trip and also pulled out a 1-0 win on Sunday at Vancouver. It is hard to compare two different sports like this, but it is clear that the Chicago winter sports are on two levels.

The Hawks' Joel Quenneville has been in the head coaching business for a long time, while Bulls' coach Vinny Del Negro is in his second year as a coach.

The Bulls' top free agent is Jannero Pargo, while the Hawks' free agent is 40-goal scorer Marian Hossa (who will return from injury this week).

The Blackhawks go somewhere with their offense, while the Bulls just run around like maniacs and toss up crazy shots near the end of the shot clock.

The Bulls are happy to get out of the first round of the playoffs, while the Blackhawks will not meet expectations if they don't advance to the Stanley Cup.

Life on the circus trip has magnified these points, where the Hawks have stepped up against some top teams and the Bulls have slipped away in a heartbeat. The Bulls are a circus right now, and while they will make the postseason, they still do not have a very good team. The goal is to wait for a prized free agent next summer, and we will see if that happens.

As far as the Blackhawks go, things are going very well for the United Center team on ice. They face a tough test at San Jose tomorrow night, and if Hossa returns for that game, it is fitting that the big free agent arrives for a game between the top two teams in the West.

Bulls fans face many frustrations with their team on the road, but Blackhawks fans are having fun no matter where their team plays.