The 2003-2004 campaign will undoubtedly go down as a learning experience for Bulls VP of Basketball operations John Paxson.

If anything, the first-year executive will learn to keep his over-enthusiastic pre-season proclamations to himself next season, instead of letting anyone who is willing to listen know that anything less than playoff appearance for his team will be unsatisfactory.

In a city that believes in the ?Curse of the Billy Goat,? Paxson?s ?No Excuses? motto at the start of the season has proven to serve as somewhat of a curse in its own right and kind of makes his predecessor Jerry Krause?s ?Organizations Win Championships? blast look like pure ingenious at this point.

Not only was the proclamation premature at best- as the Baby Bulls were never ready to embark on a post-season journey, despite what all of us dupes were led to believe- but it?s proven to be- pardon the pun- a bunch of bull. This season has been nothing but excuses if you?re the Chicago Bulls.

The latest excuse used by the organization: Conditioning- or lack thereof.

After back-to-back losses over the weekend to the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies- another young upstart who has blown right by the Bulls in the rebuilding process- head coach Scott Skiles didn?t hesitate to use the C-word as the reason for his team?s latest struggles.

?I?ll go this far: We just played two games, and in both games, the other team was in better shape than us. It?s not anything I want to harp on because somebody could take it as something negative or it?s a reflection on people before me. I?m just stating a fact??

A fact it may be. But it?s also been the same broken-record story Skiles has been conveying pretty much since running his first practice with the team three months ago. Bring it up once and you?re proving a point. Keep bringing it up constantly after mounting losses and it reeks of an excuse- something fans in the Windy City- deservedly so- have grown tired of hearing.