Ben Wallace is America's Gift to Chicago this Fourth of July

First, Detroit lost Steve Yzerman. Now, it seems they will lose Ben Wallace too.

Wallace, an unrestricted free agent, and his agent, Arn Tellem, were close to signing a contract Monday night with the Chicago Bulls worth substantially more than the four-year, $48-million offer the Pistons opened negotiations with Saturday.

According to a person close to the negotiations, the Bulls had offered something closer to four years, $60 million to bring the NBA's top defensive stopper to the Windy City.

The deal was expected to be finalized late Monday or early Tuesday with Wallace's oral agreement. He can't sign an official contract until July 12. Either way, the news leaves the Pistons facing a tough question in the middle of these Fourth of July festivities.

What do they do now?

Wallace, 31, played six seasons for the Pistons, becoming the franchise's all-time leader in both blocks and reaching fourth all-time on the rebound chart with 6,048. When he came to Detroit in 2000 in the sign-and-trade that shipped former star Grant Hill to Orlando, Wallace was known as a role-playing, undrafted, undersized center without nearly the star power he enjoys today.

Now, his profile has skyrocketed along with his trademark Afro.

Wallace, a soft-spoken, no-nonsense personality, soon became symbolic of the Pistons' style, a defensive-minded, grind-it-out, tough way of play. Despite being only 6-feet-9, he controlled the paint on the defensive end against much bigger bodies.

He almost never missed a game with an injury. He was considered the heart and soul of the Pistons locker room, where his teammates affectionately called him ''Body.''

The Detroit Pistons could very well start the brand new 2006-2007 NBA Season all hype but no ''body.'' Ben Wallace will sign with the Chicago Bulls and that will definitely be a sad day for Detroit sports.

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