The Wizards and Bulls, what a long strange trip

Washington's lead scorer Gilbert Arenas was three months old the last time the "Wizards" won a playoff series. In Wizards terms, that's only one name-change ago - back then, they were known as the Washington Bullets. In May of 1997 owner Abe Polen changed the name because it was deemed too violent in a time where high-profile shooting deaths were becoming the norm. That was the last of five name changes in Wizards history - a history, believe it or not, that has more to do with Chicago even before His Airness shocked us all and donned that hideous teal jersey.

Before Ben Gordon; before Michael Jordan.

Before Horace Grant; before the "three-peat" chant.

Before Dennis Rodman and his crazy hair; before Johnny "Red" Kerr and Norm Van Lier.

Before the logo of that mean, horned heifer;

We had another hoops team, those old Chicago Zephyrs.

For both teams, this is where it all starts: Chicago. The Zephyrs, as they were called in the 1962-63 NBA season, were actually the renamed version of the expansion Chicago Packers who came into being the previous season ('61-'62). The team changed its name to the Zephyrs. In Greek mythology Zephyr was the god of the west wind - wind, Windy City, get it?

For an expansion team the Packers/Zephyrs weren't very good, posting 18-62 and 25-55 records respectively. The team packed it up and moved to Baltimore in 1963.

In Baltimore the Zephyrs became the Bullets, receiving their trademark from the city's first NBA team which also called the Baltimore Bullets because they played in an armory. After four seasons in Baltimore, the Bullets - who since the Chicago days played in the NBA's Western Division - were forced to move into the Eastern Division because of the emergence of league's newest expansion team, the Chicago Bulls, already this town's third NBA team; before the Bulls and the Zephyrs, there was the Chicago Stags, a team which played four seasons in the late 40's but dispersed in 1950.

In 1971, the Baltimore Bullets would move into the newly formed Central Division, as the NBA realigned once more. The following season marked the first time the Bullets would make the NBA finals but was swept (4-0) by the Milwaukee Bucks. The franchise would make all four of its NBA finals appearances in the 70's, winning the whole thing for the first (and only) time in 1978

1973 saw the Bullets relocate their home base to the Washington suburb of Landover, changing the team's name from the "Baltimore Bullets" to the grotesque "Capital Bullets." The following season the owners got it right and changed the name to the "Washington Bullets."

Almost immediately after winning their first NBA title, the Washington Bullets were shifted once again in another league restructuring, putting them in the Atlantic Division, where for over two decades the franchise would do little damage. And prior to this season, the Wizards switched divisions again and moved to the Southeast conference as the NBA realigned to fit the New Orleans Hornets into the Western Conference.

Amazingly, this week's playoff series marks only the second time these two franchises have met in the postseason. The last time, 1997, saw the dynastic Bulls plow over a fairly skilled Washington team that boasted the talents of emerging stars like Chris Weber and Juwan Howard. Nothing was going to stop the Bulls that season; they swept the Bullets in three games. The next month, Chicago would win their 5th NBA finals while the Bullets would drop their violent name and become the Washington Wizards.

Since those days (Chicago would win one more championship before the front office would scuttle the ship) both teams have been in the dark ages, a time where the Bulls couldn't make the playoffs because they didn't have Michael Jordan and the Wizards couldn't make the playoffs even though they had Michael Jordan. But nowadays, with the teams like the Sixers, Pacers, and Nets hanging on to a postseason thread while the Knicks and Cav's are on Schiavo-style life-support, the Bulls and the Wizards are two most up-and-coming Eastern Conference franchise meeting on this sacred Chi-town ground where it all started in the 1960's. For me, only three words can truly describe this momentously historic occasion: Bulls in seven.