Did you see Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel during the Bulls game? He had (great?) seats under the basket and was featured prominently in a late game Derrick Rose highlight. Rose made a huge play and then postured to the audience, pumping his chest and shouting at the crowd.

It riled up the crowd to their feet. ESPN showed the replay, and in slow motion, you see a slender, gray-haired man stand up and awkwardly pump his fist in the air. It was Rahm Emanuel. ESPN didn’t mention it because it’s a national broadcast. But still, great seats. Help me out, who’s sitting next to him? Scroll through this YouTube clip to see. It’s around 5:15-5:30 into this montage (above).

Is Rahm Emanuel the new Oprah Winfrey? Is he going to be standing at every commercial break, dancing and providing b-roll for local broadcasts? As Derrick Rose and the Bulls get bigger and bigger, will the national audience get huge doses of Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago? Hey, it worked for Oprah.

And someone should ask Derrick if he was throwing his machismo at the Mayor-Elect. Gladiator style. It’s like Rose was asking Rahm, “Should I let the Pacers live? Or should I show them no mercy??” Rahm’s response? “KILLLLLLLLLL (thumbs down)!!!!!”

B story: Emanuel is going to announce a new CPS chief today. All signs point to former Rochester Schools Chief Jean-Claude Brizard. It’s definitely a new day in Chicago when our department heads aren’t named Frank, Ron, Gery, Bill, Phil, Terry or Bob.

C story: This week, Blagojevich Trial II: The Reckoning begins. The trial will be much less entertaining without the Adam Sr/Jr team, but that could all change if Blagojevich hits the stand. Last week, Judge Zagel gave out some tasty morsels to the media about what went wrong with the first trial. He essentially said the Adam boys lied and cheated. Yep, he said he was duped. The judge contends they knew all along that Blagojevich wasn’t going to testify but they acted as if he was in proceedings, therefore the judge let some evidence and arguments into play because it would either be helpful for hurtful when he hits the stand. Man, that’s prime time lawyering. For the first time ever, I would like to read a lawyer’s book. Can we brainstorm titles? ‘The Adam Family: Breakin the Law (down).’

D story: Back to Rahm for a second…Rahm Emanuel’s transition team has announced the entertainment lineup (or at least the headliner) for the inauguration. The big band? Chicago. Wait, Peter Cetera Chicago? Is he still in the band? Is it “25 to 64” Chicago or “Look Away” Chicago? Either way, I disapprove. Listen Rahm, you are a celebrity. You are ushering in a new cool for Chicago. Kanye-like cool. Or maybe even your old stand-by Wilco. Call in Samberg and get Lonely Island. But Chicago? I’m feeling uneasy. Common better be opening. You can’t go from hanging at the Double Door for Black Joe Lewis to booking such a legacy act for your big party.

Weather: Oh man, it’s snowing. I’ve heard so many friends say “I can’t believe it’s snowing in April.” Seriously? Have you not lived here for the last decade? April sucks. It’s the worst. But every year it’s a surprise?

Sports: The Hawks are just about done. But barring a miraculous comeback, this was expected. I’ve seen several posted messages on FB and Twitter about how the “fairweather” fans have deserted the Hawks. I consider myself in this category. I’m not a huge hockey fan. I loved the Hawks with Roenicke and Chelios, but honestly, the Blackhawks lost me with the strike and Eric Daze. But last year was magical. Did it carry over? Yes, I watched several games this year. Did I think they would do it again? No. They aren’t a very strong team. They proved it by backing into the playoffs. They got the unfortunate draw of a team that reloaded in the off-season with the ultimate goal of knocking off the Blackhawks and winning the Cup. On the other side, the ‘Hawks dumped several key players after winning last season. They had to for salary cap reasons. Those missing pieces are winning elsewhere and the ‘Hawks got bit by the injury bug and have never fully recovered. And personally, they just don’t look as determined to win. The Canucks are out-skating them at every turn and seem to get the intensity of playoffs. So now the Hawks might be out. Down 3-0 after an uninspired game last night on their home ice. And will I be disappointed if they lose? Sure. But will I be shocked? No. Ask a Red Wing fan about the NHL playoffs. Every year they are in. Most years they are bounced. 

Kicker: Henneman! Our April Fool’s Joke about a drunken Cubs fan is still getting buzz, being featured all weekend by Huffington Post. It now has up over 500,000 hits. Accompanying the hits are several comments. The HuffPo piece calls out that it is a joke. That’s the whole point of the article. But you read the comments below and several of them either say, “Faaaake.” or “Is this real?” Even though the article they are commenting on states the facts. I don’t think the internet is stupid. I think the internet is lazy. I do it all the time, so do you. We aren’t asking questions, looking for answers. We are just asking questions to be heard.

Anyway, Victoria Secret might have seen the Henneman video and jumped on the opportunity to sell that awesome look. Life imitates art (in window display):