CHICAGO -- Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic was an unexcused absence from Fridays pregame walk-through and admits he forgot about the schedule prior to Fridays loss 95-69 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.I completely forgot, Mirotic said after the game. We had a back-to-back. I forgot usually we meet at the arena after a back-to-back ... I apologized here to teammates, to the coach and we move on ... s--- happens.Mirotic, who did not play in Thursday nights loss to the Bucks, admitted that he was surprised he has been taken out of the rotation. For the first time in his career, he was a listed as DNP-CD during Thursdays game.?Mirotic said the absence had nothing to do with not playing Thursday night.No, Im not that kind of guy. Even if things are not like how I would like them to be, Im very professional, he said. Its not my first year here. Those guys respect me and I respect them. I would never do that, something like that.He was the only Bull not to play in Fridays game as well.Its been difficult, said Mirotic. Its the first time in my career that this is happening. But its a coachs decision so I got to respect that. Theres not too much I can say about that.Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed after the game that Mirotic was late to the United Center because he forgot about the walk-through. Mirotic is expected to be fined by the team.Niko was in early this morning, he was the first guy in the gym getting in extra work, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said before the game. I had a good meeting with him ... Just like everybody who would be late in this situation, it is a finable offense.Mirotic is averaging 8.7 points a game in 22.4 minutes in his third NBA season. He has struggled throughout the year to find consistency in his game.He was as good as he can be in a situation like that, Hoiberg said of the Friday morning meeting with Mirotic. Obviously, any competitor isnt going to be happy when you get taken out of a lineup. But talking to him about keeping himself ready ... It was good to see him in there this morning getting in extra work and getting up extra shots, keeping himself prepared when his name was called, and thats what we talked about. Obviously, hes going to get another chance this year. Hes got to keep working, keep himself ready, and when opportunity comes, go out and play well.For now, Mirotic remains out of the rotation, but Hoiberg said that could change. Struggling second-year big man Bobby Portis took Mirotics minutes during Thursdays loss.Well take it on a game-by-game basis and practices, Hoiberg said. Well have the opportunity to practice again this week and well have a few chances, and well continue to figure it out. But as of right now, its a game-by-game basis.In other news, Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams said a Christmas Day return against the San Antonio Spurs is realistic.Carter-Williams has been out since suffering left knee and left wrist injuries in an Oct. 31 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Carter-Williams says his knee is fine, that its the wrist that has sidelined him even longer than the original six weeks the Bulls estimated for his return.He had the cast taken off his wrist on Friday and seems to be in good spirits.I got my other cast off today, Carter-Williams said. I think Im going to do some strengthening exercises and all that this week and then try to get back on the court if everything feels right. Sale Custom Jerseys . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. http://www.customjerseyschina.com/ . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Wholesale Custom Jerseys Free Shipping . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Discount Custom Jerseys Online . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Essex 512 for 4 (Westley 238*, Bopara 99, ten Doeschate 77*) lead Worcestershire 230 (Cox 63, Rhodes 59, Masters 7-52) by 282 runsScorecard Its not very often I bat a whole day, said Tom Westley, as he mopped the sweat away from his reddened face and scratched a beard that may not have been there when he began this innings. He is, at the time of writing, unbeaten on 238 from 361 balls. His maiden double hundred arrived from 319 balls and provided Essex with the brunt of a dominant performance that saw the hosts hammer Worcestershire for 401 runs in the day.Talk of Tom Westleys feats this season bring with it the caveat of Division Two cricket. And that is right up to a point: James Vinces Test form may have put the feats of second-tier stylists into context. But Westleys is a case that deserves to be heard. He is a player in the form of his life, with an appreciation of his batting that has matured from flaky to reliable without any loss of indulgence.Yesterdays portion of his innings saw him bring up four figures in the Championship for the first time in his career. If that surprises somewhat, then factor in that this is the first season in which Westley has struck more than two red-ball centuries. And he only previously managed multiple centuries in 2012, both in Championship cricket. When he reached 100 today, from 182 balls - his fifth of 2016 - he became the third Essex batsman to score three Championship hundreds, alongside Alastair Cook and Dan Lawrence.Even as early as the start of May, Westley knew he was onto something: runs came better and quicker than they ever have. Even abject failure from now until the seasons end will leave him with his best season average. Currently, only Jonny Bairstow has more first-class runs in 2016.He cannot quite put his finger on what has given him this extra push, but he does credit age - at 27, this is his 10th season of first-class cricket - and a winter spent working with Andy Flower, Graham Thorpe and Gary Kirsten on the England Lions tour in the UAE. There were not too many adjustments but enough to allow him to embrace his leg-side game, without leaving him susceptible outside off.Having started the season well, with a notable century against Sri Lanka, he dipped through the middle but was buoyed by a one-day hundred and quite a few fifties to reassure himself that the purple patch was still going. Once the previous personal best of 185 was out of the way, thoughts turned to the double hundred.Westleys ability to find midwicket is unparalleled in the domeestic game and often sees him spoilt for company when new to the crease.dddddddddddd In the corresponding fixture at New Road earlier this year, he was greeted with four midwicket fielders in the second innings after reeling off 125 in the first. Aided by a bottom hand that wraps all the way around his bat handle, he is able to punch and drive through the region with ease. Today, even his forward defence seemed to send the ball in that direction. Fittingly, on 199, he beat the three fielders stationed there for the boundary that took him to 203.The number of balls he sent in that particular direction made Chelmsford seem like a slanted pool table, as the majority of his 37 boundaries were collected from the midwicket rope. Try as they might, Worcestershire could not find the appropriate book or folded bit of paper to level things up.What success they had was erased by what followed. Cook nicked off for 66 after bringing up his second fifty of the season, which made way for a 213-run partnership between Westley and Ravi Bopara. When Worcestershire then took two wickets for one run, Ryan ten Doeschate ran them - and Westley - ragged to score his fifth Championship half-century in a row. A real salt-in-the-wounds partnership brought up 100 in 101 balls.If there was one blot for Essex, it was a 99 for Bopara. After 18 Championship innings, he is still without a century this season, despite six fifties including a previous season-best of 94. He looked as good as he has done, playing with time and panache - the sort of innings you expect from Bopara. In among the 16 crisp boundaries was a six off George Rhodes that cleared the sight screen and cannoned off a house at the Hayes Close end and into its garden. However, the pursuit of three figures is proving a struggle for a man weighed down by his sheer volume of nineties in the past three seasons.You know Im not going to get a hundred, right? he joked to Westley, as the landmark loomed. A short ball from Jack Shantry was smashed to square leg for four, to take him to 99. The very next delivery, Bopara plopped forward, perhaps looking for a single into the off side, and edge through to Ross Whiteley. He was right, remarked a sympathetic Westley. Should Bopara not complete the journey to three figures with his remaining innings, it will be the first time since 2004 that he has not scored at least one first class hundred in a season. ' ' '