CHICAGO -- Rajon Rondo has long been regarded as one of the most cerebral players in the NBA, but his ability to coexist with various coaches and teammates has been called into question at every stop during his professional journey. As the veteran point guard gears up for his 11th year in the league, this time as a member of the Chicago Bulls, the early returns have been surprising, given his track record.Bulls players, coaches and front-office personnel are singing his praises at every turn.The biggest thing that Ive been most impressed with with Rajon is, the minute he stepped on this floor, when he got back here in August, is he pulled everybody together, Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg said after Tuesdays practice. His voice -- hes got the best voice on the team.When you have your point guard out there that can get you into something and talk the way he does, that sets the tone for everybody. If you got a guy not only offensively getting you into something, but defensively making sure guys are pointing and talking and getting back and getting matched up in transition, thats where it starts. Hes been here. Hes been great. Hes a guy that [you] can watch film with -- in September before we got rolling here in camp. Hes been great, and today he got us off to a great start.It remains to be seen whether Rondo can maintain that level of both communication and production throughout the entire season, but Hoibergs words have been echoed for weeks by front-office personnel who have watched the impact the 30-year-old has had since signing with the Bulls in July. Rondo has set a tone for his teammates day after day in pre-training camp workouts that the young group is following. Rondo said during Mondays media day that he spent three hours talking to Hoiberg before signing with the Bulls, noting that Hoiberg was really intelligent. The plaudits being tossed Rondos way have come from all corners of an organization in desperate need of a stabilizing point guard presence after dealing with Derrick Roses injury woes for years.Hes super smart, Bulls All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler said. I think he really sees things before they even develop out there on the basketball floor, so it makes everybodys job a lot easier. And not only is he leading the team on offense, but hes constantly talking on defense, so hes letting everybody know where they have to be. And then [free-agent signing Dwyane] Wades the same way, so he makes everybodys job easier as well, and you learn from that, so you just follow suit for the most part.When the Bulls signed Rondo, the front office highlighted the fact that he was coming off a season in which he shot a career-high 36.5 percent on 3-pointers, but it is Rondos ability to see the floor and get his teammates involved that the Bulls are banking on. He averaged 11.7 assists per game a year ago, tying a career high, and sounds confident he will set up the Bulls offense the way Hoiberg wants.I think if you followed me in my career, thats what I do best, Rondo said. Its making guys jobs a lot easier. Thats what I do. Its not a concern if I will be able to do that. Its just a matter of us buying into the system, continuing to run the floor and getting stops defensively.Butler has been struck so much by Rondos passing acumen that he has already offered up an apology for events that havent even transpired on the floor yet.Ill tell you right now, Ill apologize to Rajon early, Butler said. Hes going to fake me out with one of them damn passes. Hes going to do something crazy, and Im going to take off getting back on defense and the balls going to be coming to me in the corner. Its just incredible, because he sees everything. Oh, the defender took a wrong step this way, and Im like, Welp, hes going to shoot a layup, but he wants you to get a basket, man. And thats an incredible feeling. So Im sorry, Rajon, because youre going to definitely get a turnover from me one game.The Bulls were criticized throughout many corners of the league for signing Rondo over the summer, in large part due to his reputation for not being able to fit in well at times in various locker rooms. But Butler and the rest of his teammates dont sound concerned that Rondo will fracture the foundation the group is trying to build in Hoibergs second season. Butler, who struggled to gain footing in the Bulls locker room last season as the unquestioned leader of the team, is outwardly welcoming of the possibility of Rondo challenging him on certain issues.Im good with that, Butler said. I better challenge him right back if I see something hes not doing correctly. I want him to hold me accountable, me to hold him accountable. Everybody holding everybody accountable. Because then everybodys going to learn from their mistakes, theyre not going to do it again. But if you dont speak up on it and tell somebody what theyre doing, they dont know theyre doing anything wrong, so theyll just keep doing it.Ultimately, whether Rondos signing is a success or failure depends on the bottom line of wins and losses -- as is the case with any transaction in professional sports. But in order to do that, Rondo has to prove his critics wrong and show that he can help fit in with star players -- and big egos, like those of Wade?and Butler -- and mesh with younger players in the process. Hoiberg admitted that some of the Bulls young core has already started gravitating toward Rondo over the first few weeks of the new year. What will be more interesting to watch as the season progresses is whether Rondo -- and Wade -- can impart some of their championship wisdom toward Butler as the 27-year-old tries to elevate his status as a star player.Both Butler and the Bulls organization are trying to focus on how Rondo can help them in the present and future, not on any mistakes he might have made in the past.When you put good basketball players out there on the floor, you just go, Butler said. Everything falls into place, falls into line. You dont have to worry about too much of anything. And with him, hes an incredible leader, and he just wants everybody to be successful and hes going to put you in a position for you to do just that. David Luiz Jersey . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. David Luiz Chelsea Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. 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THE 18 EVENTSMenTrack (5 events): Individual sprint, team sprint, team 4km pursuit, keirin and omniumRoad (2 events): Individual road race and individual time-trialMountain biking (1 event): Cross-countryBMX (1 event): Individual raceWomenTrack (5 events): Individual sprint, team sprint, team pursuit, keirin and omniumRoad (2 events): Individual road race and individual time-trialMountain biking (1 event): Cross-countryBMX (1 event): Individual raceMILESTONES1816The Draisienne, the ancestor of the bicycle, is invented by the German Karl Friedrich Drais.1880The first bike chain appears and the back wheel becomes the motor of the bike.1887The tyre is invented by John Boyd Dunlop.1896Cycling is included in the programme for the first modern Olympiad.19031st Tour de France.1937Gears become standard on most cycles.1953A Californian student, James Finley Scott, creates a prototype which enables cross-country riding. The mountain bike is born.1996Professionals are authorised to compete at the Atlanta Games.1996Mountain biking debuts at the Atlanta GGames.dddddddddddd2008The BMX event makes its Olympic debut in Beijing.STARSFausto Coppi (Italy)The Campionissimo. Twice winner of the Tour de France, 5-time winner of the Tour of Italy, including 2 doubles in 1949 and 1952 (TDF and Tour of Italy). World road race champion (1953) and world pursuit champion (1947, 1949). The Italian also won 1 Paris-Roubaix, 5 Tours of Lombardy, 1 Flèche Wallonne and 3 Milan-San Remo races. One of the greatest of all time and also held the 1hr record for 14 years.Eddy Merckx (Belgium)The Cannibal. 50 victories on average between 1970 and 1973. 5 Tour de France wins (between 1969 and 1974), 5 Tours of Italy, 3 world road racing titles, 7 Milan-San Remo, 5 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 3 Paris-Roubaix, 3 Paris-Nice, 3 Flèche Wallonne, 1hr record... the greatest record in the sport.Daniel Morelon (France)King of the track. Three Olympic gold medals, seven amateur world speed champion titles. ' ' '
