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MIAMI -- For one night at least, Dade County will be Wade County once again.When the Chicago Bulls (4-4) visit the Miami Heat (2-4) on Thursday, the lions share of the focus will be on Dwyane Wade, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard, 12-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA champion.Wade, the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, spent his entire career with the Heat until he bolted as a free agent this summer, landing in his hometown of Chicago.His decision saddened and disappointed thousands of Heat fans, who grew to love what Wade accomplished in Miamis colors.Wades return to his adopted home of Miami will be an event, as evidenced by the national broadcast on TNT.Im looking forward to it, Wade told ESPN after the Bulls beat the Orlando Magic on Monday night. Im looking forward to playing in the environment I played in for 13 years and competing against guys Ive played with and have relationships with.The Wade-in-Miami angle is so prominent that he talked about it even though there was another game to be played between the Bulls and the Hawks. The Bulls, in fact, lost 115-107 at Atlanta on Wednesday night. Bulls small forward Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 39 points, and Wade added 25.Meanwhile, the Heat (2-4) have been off since Monday and wont have to travel. That is a significant scheduling advantage for Miami, but it remains to be seen if Wade plays with a huge amount of emotion and if that will be enough to carry the night.The Heat, during the games first timeout, are expected to play a video montage of Wades highlights during his career in Miami.Ill definitely be appreciative of that moment, Wade said. It will be cool to see the love and support and people being thankful for what I did. Unless you are just cold-blooded, you are going to feel something.But its not like a retirement ceremony where I will have a chance to be real emotional. Im trying to beat their butt.The Bulls (4-4) are trying to get back to the postseason, after all. They missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008.After the season, Chicago traded away star point guard Derrick Rose and watched center Joakim Noah and power forward Pau Gasol leave as free agents.The Bulls regrouped by signing point guard Rajon Rondo and getting center Robin Lopez in the Rose trade. They signed Wade to a two-year, $47 million contract after he felt, in essence, disrespected by the Heats two-year, $40 million offer.Rondo, Wade and Lopez were added to the Bulls nucleus, which consists primarily of Butler, the one star on the team who is still in his prime, and power forward Taj Gibson.Chicagos bench is led by forwards Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic and guard Isaiah Canaan.Bulls backup point guard Michael Carter-Williams made the road trip even though his bruised left knee likely will keep him out for another month.The focus on Thursday, of course, will be on Wade. And Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, for one, is looking forward to the game and to the montage that will honor his former star.That will be a special moment, Spoelstra said. Dwyane means a lot to myself and to all of us in Miami.The Heat, though, has enough to worry about in terms of actually winning games. They are 1-2 at home and 1-2 on the road.Point guard Goran Dragic leads Miami in scoring (18.0) and assists (6.2). Center Hassan Whiteside is averaging 17.5 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Reserve guard Tyler Johnson is playing well, averaging 14.5 points while making 51.6 percent of his shots.But Dragic, normally a terror while attacking the rim, is shooting just 43.9 percent on 2-pointers. And there is precious little in the way of perimeter shooting on this team once you get past Dragic and Johnson.Maybe that is one reason why Miamis starting small forward, Justise Winslow, said Wades arrival means little to him.It wont be emotional for us, said Winslow, who only played one year with Wade. We play against former players all the time. .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. ATLANTA -- Jhonattan Vegas doesnt have a realistic chance of claiming the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus even if he wins the Tour Championship.Its having any chance at all that makes this season so remarkable.Best year of my career so far, Vegas said Wednesday with as broad a smile as could be found at East Lake. Its just crazy to think of this from where we started.Still vivid are memories of how uncertain his career felt a year ago.Vegas failed to keep his card, and then his season got even worse. With a chance to regain his card in the Web.com Tour Finals, he missed the cut in the final event. That left the 32-year-old from Venezuela with limited status.I remember sitting down Friday afternoon after I missed the cut, not knowing where I could play, Vegas said.He received a sponsors exemption to the Frys.com Open to start the season, opened with a 64 and tied for 10th to get into the next tournament in Las Vegas. In an opposite-field event in Mississippi, he tied for fourth.And then he broke through in a big way by winning the RBC Canadian Open in July, and he played well enough in the FedEx Cup playoffs to finish at No. 29 and get into the Tour Championship by a mere four points.All he wanted to do this year was finish in the top 125 and keep his card.Now, he is playing the Tour Championship and is assured of playing at least three majors next year, along with World Golf Championships in Mexico and Firestone.One of the biggest accomplishments of my career, Vegas said.For others, there is so much more to accomplish.The Tour Championship, which starts Thursday, is the final stop of the FedEx Cup season that pays out $10 million to the winner in a finale that is up for grabs among the 30 players who made it to East Lake.Everyone has a mathematical chance to win the FedEx Cup, though its unlikely for Vegas. He would have to win, and Dustin Johnson would have to finish 28th.The focus is more on Johnson, the No. 1 seed, and the next four players behind him -- Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, Jason Day and Paul Casey. They only have to win the Tour Championship to claim the prize no matter what anyone else does.Bill Haas at No. 25 in 2011 was the loweest seed to win the FedEx Cup.dddddddddddd The last player to win the Tour Championship without claiming the FedEx Cup was Phil Mickelson in 2009. He wound up second in the FedEx Cup to Tiger Woods.Johnson and Day have their own competition going. Players will be voting on PGA Tour player of the year at the end of the week. Both have three victories, though Johnson has a big edge from his U.S. Open title (Days biggest victory was The Player Championship). Johnson also is leading the money list and the Vardon Trophy for lowest adjusted scoring average. But if Day were to win this week, that might make the vote more complicated.Vegas is nowhere near that conversation. For him, just getting to East Lake was worth celebrating.With only past champion status, which he had at the start of the season, he could only count on getting into tournaments where most of the top players didnt show up. Its hard to plan a schedule. There is no continuity. And his confidence was lagging.It turned out to be the best thing for him.Losing my card made me realize how much harder I had to work to get better, Vegas said. It led me to make a bunch of changes -- important changes -- that I wasnt ready to make. But it forced me to do them.Vegas was part of the next wave of impressive young players when he won the Bob Hope Classic in the second start of his rookie season in 2011. The following week, he was tied for the lead at Torrey Pines with eight holes to play and tied for third.Suddenly, he was playing in majors and World Golf Championships. Over time, he started going through the motions. He lost one year to surgery on his left shoulder. By the end of last season, he had plunged to No. 381 in the world ranking.If I kept my card, that was my No. 1 goal, Vegas said. I knew I had limited starts. I would have about 15 events. So I knew that every week was a major for me. If you approach things that way, your preparation and everything around it is more important. Because youre there to get it done. It puts it in a different perspective. ' ' '
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