The fat lady finally sang.

After pushing the defending NBA champions to a do or die, winner-take-all, seventh game in their first round playoff series, the overachieving Bulls met their demise with a 109-99 loss — ending a season filled with more ups and downs than Hunter S. Thompson's emotional state.

The loss was undoubtedly very disappointing for all players and fans, but there a a LOT of good that came out of the last half of the season. It appears the team has finally found an identity — something they have been looking for since His Airness left the Windy City. They have a franchise player to build around in Derrick Rose and they also have the right mix of role players that can lead them to success.

The Bulls will probably be without Ben Gordon next season — his contract is now up — unless they decide to pay him more money than they can really afford if they want to keep a solid team together. But even without Gordon, the team is still very solid. Kirk Hinrich came into his own during that playoff series, John Salmons is a consistent scoring threat that can get the team well over 20 points on any given night, Luol Deng will be back from injury, Joakim Noah looks like he has finally figured out what it takes to contribute in the NBA.

Though the 2008-09 season has ended for them, Bulls fans have a lot to look forward to in upcoming years. The loooong seasons filled with inconsistent play and finishing with below .500 records are over. This team is going to become a force in the Eastern Conference, especially when they grab another elite player in the 2010 dream off-season of free-agent superstars. There is a long wait until the team will take the court again, but until then, Bulls fans can rest assured they will be able to watch a title contender for many years to come.

Photo: AP Photo/Elise Amendola