The Chicago Bulls recovered quickly after losing out on Carmelo Anthony in free agency, landing Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol to bolster the teams offence. Gasol announced on his verified Twitter account on Saturday evening that he reached agreement with the Bulls. "It hasnt been easy," Gasol tweeted. "After meditating it a lot Ive chosen to play with the Chicago Bulls. Looking forward to this new chapter of my career." The Spaniard is one of the NBAs most offensively gifted and versatile big men, and he has long been one of Kobe Bryants favourite teammates with the Lakers. Gasol spent the last seven seasons in Los Angeles, teaming with Bryant to win two championships and reach another NBA Finals. The exact terms of his agreement with the Bulls were not immediately clear. The Bulls and Lakers had reportedly been discussing sign-and-trade options earlier in the day Saturday, but no official announcement from either team had been made. The 7-foot Gasol is a four-time All-Star and averaged 17.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in 60 games last season with Los Angeles, and he brings some sorely needed offensive punch to the Bulls frontcourt. Even with Derrick Rose expected to be ready to start next season after missing most of the last two years with knee injuries, the Bulls were still very much in the hunt for some offensive help for one of the most hard-nosed defensive teams in the league. With Rose out last season, Tom Thibodeaus group still managed to win 48 games and make the playoffs for the sixth straight season thanks largely to a defence led by Joakim Noah up front and Jimmy Butler on the perimeter. But scoring proved to be very difficult at times, and the Bulls lost to the Washington Wizards in five games of their first-round series. Thats why they were so hot after Anthony, perhaps the best pure scorer in the game. The Bulls felt he would be a perfect fit to be surrounded by a defensive-minded supporting cast. But as reports swirled that Anthony would remain with the Knicks, the Bulls didnt waste any time moving on. Now Gasol will team with Noah, a very good passer in the high post, in a formidable frontcourt tandem. Its also the end of an era for Gasol and the Lakers. His arrival in a trade from Memphis helped quell Bryants dissatisfaction with the direction of the franchise after owner Jerry Buss decided to move Shaquille ONeal and go forward with Bryant as the unquestioned face of the franchise. He arrived in the middle of the 2007-08 season and helped the Lakers reach the finals after a three-season absence. They lost to the Boston Celtics that time, but rebounded to win the next two championships. Gasol was the subject of trade rumours for much of his time in Los Angeles but always had the steadfast backing of Bryant. But Gasol just turned 34, battled foot injuries last season and clashed with coach Mike DAntoni several times. DAntoni is gone, but the Lakers are trying to preserve their long-term salary cap flexibility to make a run at another big star next summer, so bringing the aging big man back was not considered a high priority. Tim Brown Jersey . Bobrovsky posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.58 goals-against average and .950 save percentage to help the Blue Jackets (35-26-6) gain five of a possible six points last week. He capped the week by making 32 saves and stopping 2-of-4 shootout attempts in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Howie Long Raiders Jersey . Leverkusen said on Friday it signed Schmidt on a two-year contract. He guided Red Bull Salzburg to the Austrian championship this season. https://www.raiderssportsgoods.com/Women...nverted-Jersey/. Hamelin overcame a weak start to win bronze in the 500-metre race behind winner Wu Dajing of China and American J.R. Celski on Saturday at the world short track speed skating championship. Antonio Brown Youth Jersey . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Trayvon Mullen Youth Jersey . Moments after his Brooklyn Nets teammates ran out onto the court to congratulate him following their 100-98 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, Johnson could only shake his head at scoring only 13 points on 6-of-19 shooting.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - The extra pounds are gone and so is the weight off Von Millers shoulders.Denvers slimmed-down strongside linebacker has bounced back from the worst year of his career to make 13 sacks and regain his status as one of the NFLs premier pass rushers. Hes one of a league-high nine Broncos who were named to the Pro Bowl this week.It means a lot. Going through all the stuff I went through last year, it really helped me put my priorities in order, Miller said. Last year I didnt make the Pro Bowl. Its just such an extreme honour to get voted by your peers, coaches and fans. So Im definitely more appreciative of it this year than I ever have been before.Millers 2013 season began with a six-game drug suspension and ended with him watching the Super Bowl from the sideline after blowing out his right knee in December. In between, he tallied just five sacks in nine games.Miller had bulked up by 25 pounds last season. That extra weight made him top heavy and might even have contributed to his torn right ACL in December. Hes back down to 245 and is every bit the star he was in 2011, when he was the NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year, and in 2012, when he was runner-up to J.J. Watt for Defensive Player of the Year honours.GM John Elway, who made Miller his first ever draft pick in 2011, last spring signed free agent DeMarcus Ware, who was Millers idol growing up in Dallas, giving Miller a pass-rushing partner like he had early in his career with Elvis Dumervil.Together, they have 23 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, 43 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception heading into the season finale against Oakland (3-12) with a first-round bye on the line for Denver (11-4).Coach John Fox said hes noticed a more mature Miller this season, one who has learned his lessons from last year and rededicated himself both on both a physical and mental level.Without a doubt. Like most things, the more you do it the better you get. And obviously youre going to have mistakes or setbacks thhroughout any career, but hes done a tremendous job and going through that I think has helped him, Fox said.ddddddddddddLike Miller, cornerback Chris Harris Jr. needed ACL surgery in the off-season and he went to Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Florida, for his operation in February, a month after Andrews fixed Millers knee.Harris and Miller then spent six months together rehabbing and plotting their comebacks in 2014. Harris was out to prove his 2013 breakout season was no fluke and Miller was determined to show his 2013 season was an aberration.Theyve succeeded on both accounts, just as they correctly predicted Pro Bowl seasons for each other back in the summer when both were slowly working their way back onto the football field.We already knew 58 was going to be in the Pro Bowl again, Harris said. If he comes back to halfway normal, hes going to be in there. This is a great honour just to be there with him. We worked so hard to come back here and to be better players and it was so tough.Ill never forget just watching the AFC Championship on the sideline with him being like, This is the worst thing ever. And then coming back and making it to the Pro Bowl with him this year, its like night and day.Notes: Fox was thrilled to hear QB Peyton Mannings proclamation that hell return to Denver next season if the Broncos will have me. Of course, they will, Fox said Thursday: I would say when youre kind of a top three quarterback in the league, maybe the top of all time, Id say its a pretty good likelihood, Fox cracked. Hes had a tremendous year, theres no doubt. Weve still got things to get done and were looking forward to that opportunity. ... LB Brandon Marshall (foot) worked with a strength and conditioning coach on the side during practice. Hes making progress for sure, Fox said. The Broncos plan to have Marshall, their leading tackler, back for the playoffs. A win Sunday would give Denver a first-round bye and Marshall another week to get better.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '