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

How awesome has this series been?

Photo: espn.com

The Bulls beat Boston 128-127 last night to tie the series at 3-3 and force a final game 7 — the winner advances to play Orlando in round 2. Besides game 3 — when Boston beat the Bulls by 21 points, this has been the most exciting and entertaining series I have ever watched in my life.

Will this series be remembered for years to come? Maybe not, especially if the Bulls lose in game 7. People will always remember the championships and Michael Jordan, and they probably are more memorable. But as far as entertainment value goes, this current series takes the cake. When the Bulls were winning championships, everyone knew they were going to win. It was awesome, but not near as entertaining as a series in which four out of the six games have gone into overtime. FOUR OUT OF SIX GAMES HAVE GONE INTO OVERTIME!

No matter what happens in game 7, win or lose, it has been great to watch. Will it be extremely disappointing if they lose and the season ends? No doubt about it. But who thought they would even be in this situation in the first place? A few months ago it wasn't crazy to think they might not even make the playoffs. The team has made incredible strides in the past month, and even if they can't pull off a win Saturday night, the experience they are getting is fantastic.

Keys to winning: 1) STOP TURNING THE BALL OVER, 2) Derrick Rose has to stop being timid at the end of games. I feel like he plays with great confidence for most of the game and then in the final minutes he becomes a no-factor, 3) Shut down Ray Allen, 4) Don't quit on defense. The Bulls have seen double-digit leads disappear in the blink of an eye on a few occasions this series. If you can get that lead, buckle down on defense and extend it.

If the Bulls can do all of those things, there is no doubt they can come out of Boston with a win. Actually doing it will be the hard part. I can't wait to see what game 7 will bring to us tomorrow night.

There can't be another overtime can there? How bout 3 of em..

The Bulls forced a game 7 in one of the best series I've ever watched in my life. I could probably watch this highlight reel a million times.