According to sources familiar with the situation, veteran center Brendan Haywood learned Wednesday that he needs surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist and will be out four to six months.

Ben Gordon missed a portion of the Bulls' 3-hour-15-minute practice Monday after jamming his toe. Gordon also is nursing a sore ankle, although coach Vinny Del Negro said neither injury is serious and Gordon hasn't sat for an entire practice.

Michael Ruffin and Joakim Noah remain out with ankle and eye injuries, respectively. Del Negro said Aaron Gray returned from his sprained ankle to participate in certain drills during Monday's practice. The Bulls begin exhibition play Thursday at home against Dallas.

Bulls forward Joakim Noah has a left eye Hyphema (blood in the anterior chamber of the eye) and will likely be out five days pending the resolution of his symptoms.

Noah was poked in the left eye during practice this past Wednesday. He will be monitored daily by the team’s medical staff.

Pretty cool site where you can find quotes by practically anyone. I didn't know this existed.

Reading through some of them...I've come to the conclusion that Paxson is a robot. His operating system has not been updated in over 3 years, as he is still saying the same things today. Case in point, the quote below. Just remove Tyson's name and insert Ben's, and voila, it's the same thing he said a few days ago! lol

"We're closer than that. I've tried to look at this all along and say, 'We obviously value Tyson.' We acknowledge a lot of things out there and that because of his size and athletic ability he's a valuable player. So I've approached the negotiations that way."

''Players want to play as much as they can and guys are competitive, and I love that,'' Del Negro said. ''That's part of the business. Ben can score. How we're going to use him, that will be determined by how he plays and fits into things. I know he's willing to step up and play whatever position or how we need him to play to help us win....However I feel he or anybody else fits in and gives us the best chance to win, that's where they'll play.''

===================================

Now maybe I'm reading too much into his wording, but I just didn't like the sound of that. Why should Gordon have to be the guy who "fits in"? He's put in his time on the time and pretty much considered a "vet" to some extents. It struck me funny that Vinny mentioned this about Ben. I'm guessing the question was just directed specficially at Ben, but even still...Gordon is considered a "core" guy, why does he have to find a way to "fit in"?

Would Skiles say that about Redd? Would Phil say that about Kobe?

I don't want to overreact here, and maybe this was just a poor choice of words by Vinny. But he now has my attention on how he will handle this issue.

Comcast SportsNet Chicago announced Monday that Mike North and Dan Jiggetts, who teamed for eight years as the "Monsters of the Midday" on WSCR 670-AM, will reunite with the new year as hosts of a live weekday morning show on the cable sports channel.

"Monsters of the Morning" will be a "radio-style show on television," North said. It will run from 6-9 a.m. beginning in January.

There really isn't much separating No. 26 Chicago's average rank (19.28) from the team sitting in the No. 20 slot (Philadelphia at 18.44). But the Bulls' numbers unquestionably absorbed considerable (and deserved) punishment last season when -- in a rare scenario for teams down here -- they were widely expected to contend for the East title and wound up as a complete nonfactor in the playoff chase by winning just 33 games.

[From the FanShots -ed.]

Enrique (Chicago, IL): Have gotten a chance to see Deng, Rose or Ty thomas play recently ? As a bulls fan should be expecting a playoff run or another lottery season.

David Thorpe: (12:09 PM ET ) I saw Rose and TT this week in Chicago play pickup. And I watched Luol play in Europe. I think the Bulls can be a surprise team this year. but will have to survive a tough start. New coach, BG issues, tough comp early on.
====================
Jaron (Phoenix): How does Rose look? Is he vocal in practice or does he take a back seat to the vets?

David Thorpe: (12:12 PM ET ) He's a very quiet person. Strong inside on drives and cuts and getting better as a shooter.

====================
Mike (Chicago): Hey Thorpe, after being in Chicago, who's currently the Bulls best player and who do you think will be the best of the bulls?

David Thorpe: (12:15 PM ET ) Some of the vets were not there. Deng might have been the best player in Europe this summer, he looks totally healthy and has added a strong 3 point shot to his game. Gooden and Hughes will like playing for Vinny too.

====================
Kool (Bronx, NY): What should Ben Gordon do now?

David Thorpe: (12:19 PM ET ) Sign the QO.

====================
Claude (Miami): Where were you last week? You ruined my Wednesday!

David Thorpe: (12:21 PM ET ) Sorry. I was at the Berto Center and didn't want to bother Paxson with finding a table and a computer. They were very kind to let me come in and watch.

====================
Meredith (L.A.): Was Hinrich at the Berto for the pickup games you watched. If so, how did he look? And did you get to talk to him about what he thinks his role with be with Derrick Rose now looked at as the future PG?

David Thorpe: (12:38 PM ET ) I thought Kirk looked terrific. Stronger and with his swagger back. I see him playing with Rose a lot.

====================
JP, Lausanne: Could you watch Noah? How did he look at practice?

David Thorpe: (12:39 PM ET ) Noah added 8 pounds and looks stronger. Made some j's but still flicks his left hand too much. Gray lost 30 pounds!!

Pretty funny story. There's audio of Reggie talking about it too.