“40 games in 40 nights” that’s the slogan TNT uses to advertise the NBA playoffs which they will be airing and I am pumped. You know this is one of my favorite times of the year because I am a basketball fanatic. The NBA playoffs have just started and so much excitement is to be expected. What makes this playoffs a bit more exciting than usual, is the fact that it can be the determining factor of where some of the NBA’s most elite athletes choose to play next year. Why you ask? Because this summer some of the top superstars like Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, and many more will be free agents and if their respective teams have disappointing performances in this year’s playoffs, than there is a good chance that they may seek other teams to continue their professional basketball career.Now let’s look at some specific teams, players, and their chances at winning it all.

First we have to start with the defending champs, the Los Angeles Lakers and their franchise player Kobe Bryant. They have reloaded by signing Ron Artest; they have a chip on their shoulder because they are hungry to repeat, and most importantly they have arguably the best player in the league in Kobe Bryant who is poised and up for the challenge. Their road to glory won’t be easy though, for in the first round they face the young and athletic Oklahoma City Thunder and the 09-10 scoring champ Kevin Durant.

Next I wanted look at Chicago native Dwayne Wade and his circumstance. He is faced with a tough first round match up facing the ferocious Boston Celtics and I don’t see them winning this series despite the phenomenal talent of D-wade because he has no help. Therefore I see D-Wade playing for a different team next year.

Lastly I want to look at the Cleveland Cavaliers and their superstar Lebron James. First of all, Lebron is the best player in the league in my opinion because he brings more to the table for his team than any other player in the league. Many critics criticize Lebron for being in the league 6 whole years without a championship. Well if I might remind you all, Michael Jordan (the best player to ever play the game of basketball) didn’t win an NBA championship until his 7^th year in the league and this is Lebron’s 7^th year. I’m just saying… In addition Lebron finally has a supporting cast with great chemistry evident by the many handshakes they do and the support they give each other. So I think Lebron will get his first ring this year and silence the critics. Until next time, peace.

What’s next for Michael Jordan Romes? Continue to be a silent assassin on the basketball court or become medical school bound and pursue a career as a sports medicine physician. This was the question that was lingering not only in his head but also in many of the fans. Just a side note I am a huge fan but being from Chicago, I’m not scared to face anyone on the court and I love playing against him, so don’t mistake my praise for him as being scared. Anyways, I recently spoke with Romes at an Athletic Training meeting he was presenting at, and he revealed to me that he has decided to continue his basketball career professionally overseas in the Ukraine despite having a 3.65 GPA and having a huge desire to become a sports medicine physician. Since I am also an Athletic Training major and have similar aspirations academically to pursue a sports medicine career such as a medical doctor or physical therapists and I also love basketball, I can see how this could be a very difficult decision. Nonetheless, many young male athletes dream of playing professional sports. Therefore I feel Romes made the right decision.  Now he will be far from home in a foreign country with a completely different culture, but when you have the talent and work ethic that Romes has, I find it hard to pass up an opportunity like this to play the sport you love for a living while simultaneously traveling the world. Not to mention the fact that he can use the untaxed six figure salary, that he is going to be earning, to pay for med school at a later date. So all in all I want to congratulate him on the contract offer and wish him the best of luck.

What’s up everybody? It’s that time of the year again, when on a daily basis you can expect jaw dropping upsets, where a Cinderella team emerges. You’ll experience heart stopping, game winning shots that hang in the air for what seems like an eternity before it torches the net. And last but certainly not least it gives millions across the nation the chance to be NCAA tournament gurus in regards to filling out brackets for how they envision the NCAA tournament will play out.

Now if you’ve read my blogs before, then you know how much I promote and brag about Chicago basketball players being so good. Well now I have evidence to make me credible. The best player on three of the four number one seeded teams , in this year’s 2010 NCAA Tournament, are from Chicago. And amongst the field of 64 teams, we have a copious amount of players from Chicago making us very well represented. Just to give you a quick list of the names of the Chicago ballers in this year’s tournament, we have: Sherron Collins of Kansas, the number one seed in the Midwest region, we have Jacob Pullen of Kansas State, the number two seed in the West region, John Scheyer of Duke, the number one seed in the South region, and Deandre Liggins of Kentucky, the number one seed in the East region. In addition to those players, we also have Evan Turner of Ohio State who is in the race for Player of the year and DJ Cooper, who is a young up incoming impact freshman for Ohio University.

So when you fill out your brackets, remember what I’ve been telling you about Chicago basketball players and you might be surprised how accurate your bracket turns out. Alright I’m out y’all.

On my way home I started to reminisce as I saw a lot of different places like Jackson Park gym where I use to hoop and streets like Stony Island, that my mom would drive me and her down when I was little to Biddy basketball games. The reminiscing was great, but what I was looking forward to the most was a good old fashion home cooked meal. And my mom knew this; hence the hot and scrumptious lasagna that was awaiting me at the crib (home).Now everyone knows how Chicago is known for its infamous variety of delicious foods like Nino’s Pizza, Garrett’s Popcorn, Chicago Hot Dogs, etc. But none of that can top a home cooked meal when you’ve been eating food at the Mount for so long. Now I’m sure everybody that went to Panama City had a blast but sometimes it’s good just to go back home and see your family, neighbors, and old friends. Alright I’m out but you’ll be hearing from me very soon, so stay tuned.

well i can't pass up this opportunity - since its for the southside where this Irish girl is proudly from.

I saw the news yesterday and got so excited because its just one other thing to consider for a post-graduate option in this horrible economy. Plus the fact, people deserve to see what the real southside of Chicago is like, not like the Jersey Shore where only one of those single cast members is actually from the state of New Jersey. Those are fake portrayals of the Jersey Shore life and I don't wany anyone getting a fake idea of real Southside life. So what happened when I heard of this fabulous news? I tried out of course! In less than 24 hours I put together a few pictures of my life as a southside girl and gave a brief bio of myself as a true Chicago SouthSide Irish Woman. here it is:::

As a real Chicago southsider, I am proud to say that I do not obsess with dressing up and tanning and working out. I live the real southside life and proudly drink as an Irish girl in her early twenties wanting to have fun with life.

My name is Siobhan Ryan. I'm currently in my last semester of college and prepared to graduate with a Bachelors in Art. I was raised on the South Side of Chicago in a truly Irish family with many Irish traditions. My siblings' names are Mavourneen, Deirdre, Conor, and Liam. I am 21 years old and enjoy the real Western Avenue as much as anyone else does but enjoy it the right way as an Irish woman.

My sister and I both worked at Village Video.

The attitudes of Jersey Shore are not like what I experienced when I visited my boyfriend, a true native. It's true that they don't pump their own gas, but they don't pump fists. They love being outside with family and friends.

As a very-near-future college graduate I have considered many options for my future, including doing a year or more of service. I have been active in Habitat for Humanity for three proud years now and would love to broaden my experience with dedicating service to others.

The only tattoos I've ever considered getting are a Celtic Cross I designed on my back or a shamrock on my ankle with my sisters.

How about getting some more background of my life? My entire family has lived the Chicago life and we can truly represent the Chicago culture, especially the southside. We consist of the Ryans, the Conways, the Maloneys, and the O'Sheas. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day the right way wearing as much green as possible and drinking as much green beer as possible, starting in the morning. We eat true Irish soda bread and Corn Beef and Cabbage. My father used to work for Beverly Bank and Mt. Carmel. Him and my brothers are each alum of Mt. Carmel. My mother worked for McAuley and each of us kids have been to St. Barnabas and Sutherland. We are true Irish Catholics. I've marched with St. Rita in the st. patty's day parade. I've watched the 4th of July fireworks from Beverly Park before celebrating my birthday the next day.

I love running in to old classmates on Western Ave, even family members who only live a block away. My sister is marrying an O'Shea who grew up only a block away from us at 103rd and Western and my cousins only live further down that same block.

I have long dark hair and blue eyes. I'm tall with size 6 feet. I'm not skinny but I'm healthy. I don't run but I love to run around with kids.

A friend of my father is the owner of a bar, Rosie O'Boyle, and had interviewed my boyfriend asking every question that is essential to the Chicago SouthSide lifestyle. Unfortunately he's Italian but he's got the right head on his shoulders.

So why should I be on this show? What makes me different than any southsider? I'm real. But I'm unique. I don't bring attention to myself by dolling myself up every night and drinking my life away. Rather, I take the initiative to have relationships with my friends and family and I'm not afraid to take on a challenge and make the next big step in my life.

I'm not perfect.(and neither is this audition material) I make mistakes. But I learn from them.

so for any of you that have not experienced Chicago life, I hope this was beneficial to you. If and when this new show reality show comes out I hope it DOES show the REAL southside life and doesn't mislead you to think we're really like the jersey shore cast. but of course you can't really experience it until you visist for yourself!

What’s up everybody? This is your main man Najeeb dropping in for a much needed blog. Today is March 3, 2010 and I would first like to start my blog by saying happy birthday to my AAU coach and mentor Tommie Selvie. But anyways today was the 1^st home lacrosse game for the Mount against Wittenberg College and the game drew a pretty decent crowd despite the weather. For those of you who don’t know, Lacrosse is the fastest growing, up in coming sport out right now and it is progressively getting more and more publicity. My very good childhood friend and roommate Pete Thompson is the one who introduced me to the sport since he plays and I’ve been a fan ever since. Before he introduced me to the game, I never would have thought of going to a game, quiet as kept, yet alone following it. Watching him go to work on teams in high school was about as exciting as watching some Chicago-style basketball games and you know how exciting that can be. Now Midwest lacrosse caliber of play isn’t up to par with that of east coast play, but it was still very exciting watching him play. The MSJ lacrosse team is a team full of many talented freshman recruits like Cory Wojciechowski, Pete Thompson, and Zach Thomas and upperclassmen phenoms like John Lich, Neil Barnes, and Chris Usselman. They will need all this talent for they have the second hardest schedule in the nation that includes an east coast road trip against nationally ranked teams. That’s all for now folks, I hope I sparked your interest in lacrosse enough so that you all will attend a game sometime.

What’s up everybody this is your main man Najeeb a.k.a Jeeb dropping in for yet another blog. Basketball season is not going well at all, for we are on the verge of having another losing season. Nonetheless every day I step on the court is an opportunity for me to improve on my game and enjoy the sport I love.

If those of you that are reading this are basketball fans, then I’m sure you tuned in this past weekend to watch a historic NBA All Star Weekend that was hosted in the Dallas Cowboys $ 1.2 billion dollar stadium. The All Star game set a NBA record with 108,713 fans the most ever for a NBA basketball game. As usual the game had stars galore in attendance that included the like of many movie actors/actresses, musical artists, and many other successful people.  Prior to the All Star game on Sunday, All Star Saturday night was also full of NBA festivities like H.O.R.S.E, the Skills Challenge, the 3pt contest, and the highly anticipated Sprite Slam Dunk contest.

 Steve Nash the former two-time MVP of the Phoenix Suns had an extremely busy weekend. After participating in the opening ceremony at the 2010 Winter Olympics he caught a plane over to Dallas to dominate the Skills Challenge which featured premier point guards: Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, and Brandon Jennings. After that my boy Stephen Curry (whom I think I look like) made his debut in the 3pt shootout and shot the lights out, however; he fell just short and came in a close second to Paul Pierce who won the 3pt contest. The highlight of the night is usually the Slam Dunk contest especially considering the fact that Maywood’s (Chicago) finest letshannonbrowndunk.com was a participant and 5’7 Nate Robinson was attempting to become the first player ever to win the dunk contest. To say that the dunk contest didn’t live up to its hype would be a major understatement.  I was very disappointed with the dunks that were done and the crowd’s facial expressions showed that they too were disappointed. Overall NBA All Star weekend was a success and historic and will definitely be an event that all the athletes can tell their kid’s kids when they get old. That’s all for now, I’ll get up with y’all later. Peace.

What’s up my MSJ fans? This is your main man Najeeb signing in to drop another intriguing blog. If you don’t know already I am from Chicago, a city that literally breeds phenomenal basketball players. The reason is because growing up all we do is hoop and for some individuals in the inner city of Chicago, basketball is the only way out of the “hood”. I’ve seen some amazing talent in Chicago so to say that Michael Romes, a Kentucky baller, has really impressed me like no other is really a bold statement. For those of you who don’t know who Michael Romes is, well let me just say he is the greatest player to step foot on the courts of the Harrington Center.

Romes is from Villa Hills, Kentucky and is Beechwood high schools finest. Michael is an Athletic Training student like myself and he has aspirations of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. That’s just a little background information to show what kind of focus this guy has. What many people don’t know is that despite playing at a D3 school he has offers to play basketball professionally overseas and after a whole season of practicing with him and watching him abuse other teams during the season, I think he should continue his basketball career and pursue a professional career overseas in Europe. Michael is a 6’4 215+ SG whose game is extremely crafty. His jump shot is pure and his work ethic shows that he is the hungriest player to win every game bar none. So if you see Michael Romes tell him he should go overseas to hoop and if you have a facebook page join my fan page for Michael Romes. That’s all for now folks until next time peace.

What’s up everybody? I first have to apologize to all my MSJ fans and others reading for being M.I.A (missing in action). Things have been hectic with my hard academic schedule and the stress from our basketball team’s losing streak, however; that is no excuse. But anyways I wanted to talk to you guys in this blog about the barbershop. And I’m not talking about the barbershops in Delhi, Ohio that the people of Cincinnati are accustomed to. I’m talking about the Chicago style barbershop that usually caters more to the African-American population but will accept anyone. Some of you all may have seen the movie Barbershop starring Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer. If so this movie, based in Chicago, was a very good depiction of what the barbershop is really like. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, the barbershop is the black man’s country club. It is much more than a place you go to get a haircut. In the barbershop, barbers are cracking jokes all the time on any and everybody. If you don’t have thick skin, then the barbershop is not the place for you. You can always count on the local street hustler to stop by selling “CDs DVDs”. Old men are playing chess daily and constantly telling young guys like me how good we have it and I bet you’ll hear them say “back in my day” lol. As far as the barber is concerned, he’s more than just a guy that cuts your hair. As Cedric the Entertainer put it in the movie Barbershop; “See, in my day, a barber was more than just somebody who sit around in a FUBU (for us by us) shirt with his drawers hanging all out. In my day, a barber was a counselor. He was a fashion expert. A style coach. Pimp. Just general all-around hustler. But the problem with y'all cats today, is that you got no skill. No sense of history. And then, with a straight face, got the nerve to want to be somebody. Want somebody to respect you. But it takes respect to get respect.” And that is why I like going to the barbershop because the experience is one of a kind. So next time you go to the barbershop think about everything you’re missing out on and consider looking for a new barbershop where you can experience this. Look out for more interesting and intriguing blogs from your main man Jeeb soon to come. Thank God every morning for waking you up to live another day. Deuces.

What’s up everybody? This is your main man Najeeb, here to drop my last blog of the semester. As stressful as studying for finals may have been the past couple weeks, it’s all over and the month long winter break that we all have anxiously been awaiting has finally arrived. This blog I’m going to do something I’ve never done before in a blog. In my previously blogs I’ve given key advice, shared hilarious college experiences, and touch on many other topics that were important to me that I thought you all would be interested in reading. But now it’s time for a change. Many of you all, including my fellow College of Mount St. Joseph  bloggers, probably would not expect this move that I am about to make. This is a bold move I am about to make and if it wasn’t for my Chicago swagg I probably wouldn’t have the confidence to make this move. So what the hell am I talking about? I know the suspense is killing you, so I guess it’s time to tell you all. I, Najeeb Abdur-Rahman, challenge Betheny Herr (the Communications Specialist for the Department of Marketing at MSJ and coordinator of MSJ blogging) to a one-on-one game of basketball in the Harrington Center once 2^nd semester resumes so that any student that is interested in seeing Betheny get demolished, will be able to. I also want to wait till 2^nd semester so that Betheny can get some extra time to practice because I guarantee you all that she will need it. So mark your calendars everybody, one day 2^nd semester if Betheny doesn’t chicken out, it’s going down. Have a great break and happy holidays to everyone.