Shaw Media’s Jon Styf and APSE award-winning (that’s new as of Tuesday afternoon) columnist Tom Musick talk about Derrick Rose and his return.

Styf: It’s your editor calling, Tom. I want to know where you’ve been. Twitter says Derrick Rose has spoken his peace on his injury. He’s in a land far, far away with no return in sight. He’s no Adrian Peterson, you see. He needs to protect his future. And you need to protect yours. So why didn’t he talk to you?

Musick: Because I wear New Balance shoes. Duh. Seriously, Rose is one of the most polite superstars I have encountered, but his accessibility has changed 180 degrees in the past couple of years. He used to sit at his locker before games and answer questions from idiots like me. Now, he has a team of advisers/handlers/managers/whatever who keep an extra-tight lid on his availability. Sure, the Bulls pay him $95 million, but adidas pays him twice that. Now, when he talks, it’s part of an adidas ad campaign, or it’s an interview with a national newspaper that mentions his adidas connection. As athletes always say: This is a business.