By Rick Brunson .com's resident disgruntled old, old, man, OMB.

There is a fable that is a favorite of mine, and it goes something like this:

A frog encounters a scorpion standing along the side of a river. The scorpion asks the frog if he could help him get across the river. The frog says: "Yes, I could carry you across on my back, but won't you sting me?" The scorpion replies: "Of course not! Why would I sting you when you are doing me such a huge favour?"

The frog thinks for a second, and then agrees to let the scorpion climb onto his back. They swim out into the river, and at about the half-way mark suddenly the scorpion stings the frog. As the frog starts twitching and they both begin sinking, the frog croaks out: "Why did you sting me?" The scorpion replied: "Hey, I'm a scorpion! What did you expect?"

I remembered this little tale while watching some of the Bulls game on The Score's Court Surfing show. In a short span of time in the fourth, Rick Brunson had hit back-to-back treys, grabbed a steal and a rebound, dropped a dime and hit another jumper, as the Bulls made a furious charge back into the game to take the lead at 68-64. Tim Micallef cut in at that point, just baffled by the bust out performance of our favorite towel-waving castaway.

Micallef then proceeded to directly credit this very website for potentially inspiring Rick Brunson to these new and dizzying heights!

Thanks for the props, Tim! However, I knew better than to get over-excited. I was saddened that they didn't show the entire rest of the fourth quarter, but honestly I already knew what would happen. Sure enough, when I checked the recap later:

"Jerome Williams broke the Chicago slump with a jumper, and a Pistons miss gave the Bulls the chance to take the lead. However, Rick Brunson missed a 3-pointer, and the Bulls fouled Hamilton with 33.6 seconds left. Hamilton hit both shots to make it 75-72, and Chicago rookie Kirk Hinrich split a pair of free throws at the other end to bring the Bulls within two. Brunson then committed an away-from-the-ball foul, giving Detroit a free throw and possession. Billups missed again from the line, but Chucky Atkins hit an underhanded layup with seven seconds left to clinch the game."

The scorpion had stung again.