Cubs Should

Tom Ricketts should take the Cubs out of Chicago… Hear me out.

Ricketts is angry about the signage that he wants in left field that may not be put up and threatened to move the team to Rosemont.  I say let him take the team there.  What has Wrigley meant to Chicago more than 100 years of losing?

The field is old and in need of millions of dollars of repairs.  500 million dollars apparently.  The Marlins only spent 100 million dollars on their new stadium that just opened up.  So rather than continue our losing tradition in Chicago we can start a new team and a new area and hopeful save some money.

Opening up the park in Rosemont could also mean that we would have more money to spend on other players rather than renovating 500 million dollars on a park.  We already lost out on the opportunity of buying Albert Pujols of the Angels, regardless of if people actually think he would have come to the Cubs or if he was just looking for more money, the Cubs had the money to spend on him and are now spending it on a new park…

Even though Ricketts empty promises of taking the team out of Chicago to Rosemont don't mean mud to people.  I am hoping that the signs don't get put in for the sake of a new start for the Cubs.  Also,  the fans can finally put to rest the case of whether or not the field or the team bring the fans to the games.

Bulls on Bulls

The Chicago Bulls left the Miami Heat with a loss on their own court. The Bulls brought home the win with a final score of 93-86. Hours before the game, many Chicago fans were pessimistic towards the Bulls. On a social media site, Nancy Barron updated her status saying,  "Chicago, is it bad I don't think the Bulls will win tonight?" The odds were definitely against the Bulls. The Heat had nine days of rest where the Bulls only had one after winning game seven in Brooklyn. Not to mention...Luol Deng, Kirk  Hinrich and of course Derrick Rose remained out. The Heat had an advantage with their star Players, Dwyane Wade and this year's MVP LeBron James. It's a great feeling for Chicago to see a team push through until the end. The Bulls will take on the Heat once again this Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. They won't be back in Chicago until Friday for game three. Chicagoans are definitely hoping for the best outcome. The Bulls are on fire! Keep it up, men!

No Excuses

I was not expecting a Bulls win last night! I was still celebrating my favorite player’s MVP honor when the Bulls came in and ravaged it all. But, that’s okay I’m not upset. The Bulls are a great basketball team. They’re tough. Poor Nate Robinson got busted in the lip and received ten stitches but that didn’t slow him down one bit. He was like a little firecracker. Robinson’s 5’8” frame sprang up in the air passed anyone who got in his way. He’s just not afraid.

The undermanned Bulls aren’t afraid of anything either. That’s why they’ve been winning games. No injury can stop them. I’ll be a LeBron fan forever but I recognize a good game when I see one.  The Heat must step their game up because the Bulls are showing no mercy.  

MVP, LeBron James, described the Bulls perfectly in his pre-game interview “They have a no-excuse mentality.”

The Heat certainly have no excuse for losing that game last night. I’m very interested to see what game two will bring tomorrow. 

Noah: Back off Rose

Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah is sick and tired of people picking on his teammate Derrick Rose.
Rose has been openly criticized for sitting out all season while recovering from the ACL he tore one year ago.

Many people think he's been out too long and are giving him a hard time for not coming back, including the media as well as some disgruntled Bulls fans.

Noah got emotional in an interview after Monday's win against the Heat when asked how proud he was for beating the Heat without Rose.

"If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has then maybe you can judge, but everybody who hasn't been in that situation before should really shut up because I feel like it's just so unfair to him and to this team," Noah said in an interview with ESPN.

On social media sites, the opinions seem to be mixed.
Twitter was blasting with Rose talk after the Bulls pleasantly surprised everyone by beating the Heat without him. Overall, it seems like opinions are all across the board.

Many people take the same side as Noah and stand up for Rose, and believe he needs to heal and come back when he is ready.

Dulce Ortiz (@DulceSweet) tweets, "Unless you're an athlete that has gone through ACL reconstruction surgery like #Rose, you cannot talk."

Others are less understanding, and a lot more harsh. Nick Gonzolas (@Nick_Gonzo24) tweets, "If D Rose doesn't come back now with that 1 game cushion, I will fly to Chicago and tear his other ACL to give him a reason not to play."

Either way, the star athlete still has hundreds of understanding fans sticking up for him, as well as a very loyal team of Bulls.

Bulls Win Game 1 Against Heat Despite Playing Without Key Players

It wasn't easy and it certainly wasn't pretty, but the Bulls managed to take the first game against the Heat.

The Bulls, who have been missing a few key players in Rose, Deng and Hinrich, played a very physical game and beat the big bad Miami Heat 93-86 at American Airlines Arena.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau ruled out guard Kirk Hinrich for his fourth missed game due to a severely bruised calf and Luol Deng, who is back in Chicago after experiencing some complications from a spinal tap test for viral meningitis.

And while each Bull did their part to make up for those guys, the real winner was Nate Robinson.

Robinson left the game in the second quarter after cutting his lip colliding into Lebron James for a loose ball.

He ended up getting 10 stitches and eventually returned to the game scoring a game-high 27 points.

"It was just a hustle play, that went wrong," Robinson said. "But you have to play through it. I got 10 stitches, but you just have to continue to fight. You have to muster up enough energy and enough fight to go in there and play as hard as you can and produce for your teammates. They expect you to get stitched up and come back out there and continue to battle, and that's what I did"(ESPN Chicago).

In Nate we trust, am I right? Am I right?

Hey Boozer, what's your excuse?!

The Bulls will get a much needed rest Tuesday and gear up for Game 2 on Wednesday once more in Miami.

All we can do now is just BULL-ieve.

Blogger fired for criticizing NBA cheerleader

                                                                         via Examiner

People just can't stop hating on the cheerleaders. 

First there was the Raven's cheerleader banned from performing at the Super Bowl... and now blogger Anna-Megan Raley, who goes by the pen name Claire Crawford, has been fired for poking fun at NBA cheerleader Kelsey Williams.

Crawford questioned Williams weight after the Oklahoma City Thunder played against the Houston Rockets in the NBA playoffs on April 22.

The post has since been deleted, but according to ABC news, Crawford wrote, "“But if she's comfortable wearing that tiny outfit and dancing for NBA fans, then good for her. Besides ... not every man likes women to be toothpick skinny. I'd say most men prefer a little extra meat on her bones.”

Crawford went on to ask readers to vote whether or not Williams was "fit" enough to wear her uniform.

While a spokesperson confirmed to the Daily News that the blogger responsible for the post has been fired, there is still speculation if Raley is in fact Crawford.

After the public humiliation, Crawford took to twitter to express her gratitude to supporting fans and let the "haters" know she embraces her womanly figure.

You go girl!

Rose on Rose

Earlier today on ESPN, Jalen Rose started giving his thoughts about the long-dragged out topic of whether Derrick Rose should play or not play. He made some good points saying "I'm pretty sure if Derrick could play, he would. If he cant, he cant. There is nothing more to be said." Now as much as I agree with Jalen, I also disagree. Yes, he was right by basically saying to leave Derrick alone and wait until he is ready. However, he his wrong at the same time. Everyone knows that Derrick has been cleared-to-play now for almost 3 months. That means he is not injured anymore and is healed as much as he possibly can. Also, Derrick just signed a 96 million dollar contract to become the team's franchise player. Now, personally if you make that much money, I don't care what pain your in...you better play. As a high paid athlete, I believe you should be held to higher expectations than everyone else. The fact that Derrick Rose is still on the bench not even attempting to play any minutes, tells me either that something went wrong in the healing process, or he has a lack of leadership to his team. He is also following the foot steps of the greatest basketball ever to live. Michael Jordan played on the court no matter how he was feeling. For example, the famous flu game against the Utah Jazz. MJ was definitely not 100% that game and still managed guide his team to a win. So, their really isn't any excuses to me why Derrick Rose is still on the bench. So, Jalen did put up a good argument on the one-side. But, he didn't argue the other side of the issue.

4-time MVP

Four regular season MVP’s, one NBA Championship, one NBA Finals MVP and countless haters.

Who’s the NBA player I’m talking about? It’s LeBron James from the Miami Heat.

He won his fourth MVP in the last five seasons, two of which came with the Heat. James joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as the only five players in the NBA to win the MVP at least 4 times.

James averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the season. He shot 56% from the field, 40% from three and 75% the free throw line. Incredible numbers but fans shouldn’t be surprised because James demands perfection out of himself.

He missed out being named unanimously named MVP by one first place vote and that one vote went to Knicks Forward Carmelo Anthony. Check out this cool gif in honor of James winning the MVP.

On a day that all eyes were on James, he tried hard to take the attention away from himself and thank other teammates, family and friends and even thanking his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

James said in his MVP press conference that he appreciates the award and the individual accolades but he couldn’t have done it without his teammates, his brothers, and his goal is to win a second NBA Championship.

Now, he’s without a doubt the best player in the NBA and on the verge of back-to-back championships.

Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose all sidelined for their teams so it’s lining up for James and the Heat to win the championship again.

What exactly does this MVP award mean?

            For James, it’s business as usual and the only trophy he wants to hold is the Larry O’Brien as the confetti rains down on him. 

Windy City Wanderers Battle for the Finish

The Chicago Fire's coed soccer league is known as the Windy City Wanderers. The twenty-five individual teams throughout the league are nearing the end where they will soon be competing to make one of the top four spots for the 2013 tournaments. The brutal games of slide tackles and rainbows will begin Sunday, May 12th. Each team will take part in multiple matches that day that will determine what four teams will move on the the next round. The league only plays on Sundays so this three day tournament will see it's winner on Sunday May 26th.

It's always fun to watch a good game of coed soccer. Many of the teams have played for a couple years together so they are all ready to fight for the W. It can be expected to see some unnecessary roughness, which will included guys not going easy on the ladies. Lucky enough, the women of the Windy City Wanderers are ready to take on anything.

The tournaments will be played at the YMCA located at 2700 s. Western Avenue starting at 11am. Fans are always welcomed!

Lets go teams!

Jason Collins Makes History

This week, Wizards center, Jason Collins became the first pro athlete to openly declare himself a gay man. Collins sat down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, for a two-part interview that aired on Good Morning America just twelve hours after the big announcement.

Collins described his struggle to come out as “knowing that the sky is blue but you keep telling yourself it’s red.”

He compared the battle of accepting his sexuality to a 12-step program, saying he went through “anger and denial” before reaching a point of self acceptance.

Although it may have been a very difficult decision for him to make, Collins says the support he’s gotten has been “incredible.”

The 7-foot baller even poked a little fun at himself during the interview, saying “I’m good at playing it straight.”

As for his teammates, Collins said he “expects support from them” and that’s exactly what he’s gotten.

In a telephone interview Wizard’s center Emeka Okafor said “If you are good person and a good teammate – you have those boxes crossed off – I’m cool. All the other stuff is just whatever.

Collins said he didn't know of any other gay NBA players, but maybe his brave decision will inspire one who's privately battling with their identity just like he was. 

GLASA Helps Individuals With Physical and Visual Impairments to Shine

Sport is a universal language that has a way of bringing people together from all walks of life.

For individuals who are able-bodied, finding the sport of their choice and participating in it, isn't hard to do. But for the children and adults that aren't able-bodied, it can certainly be a challenge. 

And it is because of that very reason, that GLASA was born. 

GLASA, also known as the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, is a sports program that eliminates that challenge and provides children and adults with physical and visual impairments, the opportunity to play a sport of their choice stress free. 

The organization's mission believes that "no individual's quality of life should be limited by a physical or visual impairment"(GLASA). 

Some of the sports it offers are power chair soccer, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair track and field, swimming, wheelchair football and even judo for the blind and visually impaired. 

Hector Rodriquez, a father of two sons that participate in GLASA's power chair soccer, says he is so grateful that problems like GLASA exist. He says it gives his sons confidence and allows them to do what they do best: play sports. 

"This is amazing. It gives them the opportunity to challenge themselves, to excel, to prove that they can do the same thing that able bodied people can do." 

And though it may seem like GLASA just provides an outlet for these individuals to play sports, it does a lot more than that. It allows these individuals to play and help bring out the confidence that they've had all along and shows the rest of the world that they too, are no different from the rest.

Nobody can beat the Heat!

There isn't one team in the current NBA playoffs that has a chance of winning this year. The Miami Heat will defend their title, and I have no doubt. I will tell you why. Not only is Lebron James by himself; absolutely unstoppable. But, the Miami Heat hands down have a top three defense in the league. As the old saying goes "Defense wins championships,"So not only do they dominate on defense, they have the most dominant all-around player in the league. The Heat also have an unbelievable team chemistry going. I think Ray Allen and Chris "Birdman" Anderson really brought a spark to this team this season. Plus, there really isn't a team that can play decent defense against the Heat in the Playoffs. Thunder, Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors; are all teams that play great offense but have no defense. Which, that leaves the Spurs. The only team that even matches up well.  However, way too old to compete with a run and gun team like the Heat. All I can say... get ready for a repeat folks.

Rave Run Lights Up Chicago

Hundreds of people gathered in the heart of Grant Park on Saturday for the Rave Run. The 5k race is exactly what it sounds like: half race, half rave.

Electricity was in the air and people were glowing with excitement both before and after the race (literally, they were all wearing glow sticks).

The 3.1 mile race was anything but your typical 5k. For starters, it was a night race. Participants made their run in the dark, decked out in rave inspired gear. While running in the dark may have caused a few sprained ankles, for many the ambiance was worth it.

And most races have a post-race party, but this one also had a pre-race party. Everyone got revved up to run by gathering in front of a giant DJ booth in the middle of the park and jammed out to electric music.

The race began shortly after and participants ran to the sounds of blasting techno music throughout the park, and many of them danced their way to the finish line. Unlike most races the event wasn't timed, so everyone was there purely for fun.

Giant ten-foot-tall blow-up glow sticks were positioned along the running path surrounding Grant Park. Even the underpass was decked out in bright lights for the rave-runners.

Afterwards, everyone returned to the DJ booth for the after party and danced the night away. 

Between the perfect temperatures for an outdoor dance party and the magnificent view of the lit-up skyline, Grant Park gave every nightclub in Chicago a run for its money.

Staci Boyer: Mother, Fitness Expert & Inspiration

Don't let the toys on Staci Boyer's lawn fool you. This is no ordinary home. Walk down stairs into her studio and you will see what I'm talking about.

Trophies, awards, inspirational posters and pictures decorate her office.

If you haven't already hear of Boyer, then you must not be as knowledgeable about fitness as you thought.

Boyer is not just a trainer and fitness model, she is a brand.

Boyer just published entitled Moviv8n', manages an online website for clients, trains top-ranked winner of fitness competitions and is THE fitness trainer for the Miss Illinois pageant circuit.

If that doesn't seem like enough she is married with two kids.

Boyer's clients are all over the board: men, women, young, old.

While Boyer does train the infamous Team FAB, a group of top-ranking fitness competitors, the majority of her clients are just interested in general weight loss.

Monalisa Brindley lost over fifty pounds with Boyer. She sought out help to lose some weight and tone up. In her forties, Brindley never expected to be wearing a bikini at the pool, let alone in front of millions, but next month she will be competing in her first competition. She gained a new love for herself and the self-confidence to show off all of her hard work.

Boyer's success stories prove that her methods work.

Her motto speaks volumes of her personal ethic and clientele.

"Your destiny is not by chance- it is by your choice."

Don't expect to not work with Boyer's programs. It may be a little rough in the beginning, but you will gain confidence, a healthy life-style and values that are applicable throughout other aspects of your life.

No pain, no gain!

End of the yellow brick road for the Lakers and Howard?

The drama, the expectations and the circus began when Dwight Howard officially became a Los Angeles Laker on August 10, 2013.

Everything the Lakers, players and their fans wanted and more so expected went up in flames when Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles tendon against the Golden State Warriors, and everything that took place after that was a mere formality.

The fans and the Lakers couldn’t actually expect to beat the San Antonio Spurs with half of their team in street clothes and the other half playing with injuries.

            "It's like a nightmare, a bad dream” is how Howard described the season in the press conference after the game and now it's over. No more injuries, no more coaching issues and no more arguing over whether or not Bryant shooting too much.

            The real question is if Howard will re-sign with the Lakers in the off-season. The Lakers can offer him a lucrative offer of $118 million over five years. If another team wants to sign Howard they can only offer four years for $88 million. The difference there is $30 million and that’s a lot of money to pass up.

Can Howard leave the Lakers after only a season with the team? The damage his image will take is enormous. The Lakers are one of the best sports franchises of all time, so if he chooses to leave he has to accept he’s going to a lesser situation.

The pros for Howard re-signing: $30 more million, franchise player once Bryant retires and the allure of playing for the Lakers and living in Los Angeles is second to none.

The logical reason for Howard leaving the Lakers is because the pressure of having to win championships in LA could be too much for him to handle it. Bryant gets a bad reputation but all Bryant wants to do is win championships. Plus, Howard always talks about how badly he wants to win championships and this is the team to do it with.

            Howard tweeted five times late last night expressing his frustrations and the last tweet got LA buzzing.

            What does it exactly mean? Is he thanking the fans for the support or is he saying good-bye to LA?

            We’ll find out one way or another over the summer but until then Bryant, Howard and the rest of the Lakers can enjoy fishin’ together.