“Oh no, Ben, not another Bulls story.”

But this one is different, I swear [READER]( The Daily Reader As the NBA playoffs came to an end and free agents signings began, I moved into the Joe & K.C. time of the season. That’s Joe Cowley and K.C. Johnson—Bulls beat writers for, respectively, the Sun-Times and NBC Sports Chicago. I’m a fan of both—routinely follow their Twitter feeds. Wish they’d file more, utterly obsessed as I am with updates about my beloved Chicago Bulls. And with no Bulls games to watch, reading K.C. and Joe is sorta the next best thing. Now I realize many political junkies out there are saying, “Oh no, Ben, not another Bulls story.” But this one is different, I swear. This one’s a parable about polar opposites occupying the same corner of the universe. Let me explain . . . K.C.’s persona is bright, cheery, and optimistic. In contrast, Joe’s is dark, dour, and pessimistic. If K.C. could be reduced to the lyric of a song, it would be “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.” For Joe, it would be: “There’s a darkness on the edge of town.” If Joe were a football coach, he’d be Mike Ditka. K.C.? Why, Ted Lasso, of course. K.C. graciously takes questions from readers, patiently responding to their trade suggestions, no matter how absurd some may be. In his tweets, Joe frequently taunts Bulls fans, mocking their excitement for the team, while predicting it will end badly. Just like it did last year. And the year before that. And that. For K.C., the glass is half full. For Joe, it’s leaking. Give you a recent example . . . The Bulls drafted a guard named Dalen Terry. . K.C. interviewed Terry’s coach, who heralded him as a great player. Bulls fans everywhere cheered. Joe suggested that by drafting Dalen Terry, the Bulls were revealing that Lonzo Ball’s knee injury was worse than they’d previously let on and he might not be coming back anytime soon. Bulls fans groaned. Well, I may have been the only one literally cheering and groaning, but you get the point. Sometimes they can reverse it. That is, K.C. can be acerbic. Like when he recently pointed out that Andre Drummond is lousy at free throws, just in case Bulls fans were a little too giddy about the team’s new player. And Joe can be sunny, as when . . . well, just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t. Both have had moments of insight. K.C. championed Jerry Krause—the greatest general manager in the history of Chicago sports—when so many other local sportswriters couldn’t bring themselves to give him any credit for the six championships. And Joe correctly pointed out that the Bulls front office screwed up—set back the team for years—when they traded Jimmy Butler in 2017. So how could I like the work of reporters so drastically different? Short answer: I’m addicted to the Bulls and will read pretty much anything about them. Longer answer . . . Joe and K.C. symbolize the vicissitudes of life. From draft and free-agent time in July through training camp and the early part of the season, I’m more like K.C.: optimistic and hopeful. As January fades into February and reality sets in, I’m like Joe. I stay up late drinking whiskey, chain-smoking Marlboros, and cursing my fate. I don’t really do that. Pretty sure Joe doesn’t either. But you get the point. Then come July, I repeat the cycle. As Kurt Vonnegut once said: life is like an eggroll, you need sweet and sour sauce to bring out its flavor. Actually, I’m pretty sure Kurt Vonnegut never said anything like that. But, again, you get the point. Go, Bulls! Listen to [The Ben Joravsky Show]( [What Ben's Reading] - [Northern Heist]( a novel about a bank robbery in Ireland by Richard O’Rawe. Back in 1981, O’Rawe was a publicist for the IRA. Now he’s the master of tough guy stories. - [Mike Sula]( on the House of Wah Sun - [Ben Joravsky]( on Elon Musk's curious attitude about free speech. It’s for him but not his employees. [Best of the Ben J. Show]( - [Rachel Hinton]( on last week’s primary… - [Emma Tai]( some good news for lefties… - [Rummana Hussain]( on MAGA’s war against women… [Lost Illusions]( by [Noëlle D. Lilley]( [Apples]( by [Kathleen Sachs]( [Elvis]( by [Adam Mullins-Khatib]( 🌈 The Reader is finally free! Let's keep it that way. [Invest in our future together]( making a donation to #KeepReaderFreeAndFreaky 👇 [Issue of June 23 - July 6, 2022 Vol. 51, No.]( [Summer Theatre & Arts Preview]( [Download Issue]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2022 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616